Ladies and gentlemen, here you can see the embodiment of modern times: the automobile! A technical marvel, the engine is equipped with numerous horsepower and promises speed, reliability and personal independence. It also promises road safety and cleanliness. Gone are the days when the streets were full of steaming horse manure! Also note the outstanding beauty and elegance of this piece of art. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a real Hansa, manufactured in the Hansa-factory in Varel!

Industrialization began quite early in Varel and established its reputation as the “Manchester of the German North”. This initially had to do with the convenient port connection. In this way, raw materials could easily be brought in for processing on site. In the 1840s a whole series of steam-powered cotton spinning mills and large-scale weaving mills was established. This was soon joined by iron processing and machine manufacturing. Accompanied was this by a major change in the social structure. Hundreds of workers were recruited, particularly from Eastern Germany, who had to eke out an existence under most adverse conditions. In 1844, according to this unsustainable situation the municipal office drew up a “Memorandum on the Workers' Question,” which included suggestions such as limiting daily working time to 12 hours, avoiding health risks in the factory halls, and abolishing child labor.
Only twenty years later, economic conditions had changed significantly. Despite expansion in the 1850s, the port became increasingly too small. In addition, the railway has now solved all of the previous logistics problems of domestic competition. Accordingly, economic development in Varel was considerably weakened. Nevertheless, some continued: the Schwabe family acquired some properties from the textile industry and revitalized them with a leather and drive belt factory. Iron processing also experienced a new boom when the Varel manufacturers August Sporkhorst and Robert Allmers started producing something highly innovative and very daring in 1905, namely the automobile! At first it was an absolute luxury property for which the local streets were not developed at all. But within a few years the car mutated into a prestige object for the so-called “better society”. Even Grand Duke Friedrich August owned a chic Hansa, built in Varel, with which he was chauffeured through the countryside. In general, the Hansa brand made a lot of noise in the sophisticated world. Not only was it considered a technical trendsetter, it also won various prestigious car races! Varel might be the Wolfsburg at the Jade Bay today if Hansa hadn't become a victim of the times. The difficult times after the First World War and the Hyperinflation in 1923 had dramatic economic consequences for the Hansa-factory. The end came with the global economic crisis of 1929. What remains is a piece of fine technological history and some achievements, that can still be found in every car today.