Loden - then & now

Loden is known throughout the world primarily for its use in traditional costumes. But in addition, people have started to see that loden is a versatile material suitable for sportswear. Many people are now well aware of this fact. What is not so well known is the eventful history of this cloth, which is so typically Austrian.


Austria has been making loden for many centuries.  In earlier times farmers used the wool from their sheep and processed it into loden to make material for their clothes. Archduke Johann and Emperor Franz Josef later popularised loden as a fabric, which was both suitable for hunting and also socially acceptable.


The origin of the word "loden" is the Old High German word "loda" meaning a "coarse woollen cloth". Records from the year 1060 show that church dignitaries and secular landowners were accepting loden as rent in lieu of money and this in turn led to a brisk trade in the fabric.


Loden has remained loden for a thousand years or so.  
But it is no longer the coarse fabric it once was. Now loden is soft and light, fashionable, but production methods are still faithful to the guiding principles of traditional craftsmanship.