Klotz is a family of violin makers. Members of the Klotz (or Kloz) family have made violins in Mittenwald, Bavaria from the mid-17th century to the present. Matthias Klotz (1656–1743) founded the Mittenwald school of violin making. Mittenwald prospered and became well known for its violins.
In 1856, the Bavarian government founded a school in Mittenwald to continue the violin trade.Peterffy, Ernest. Music and Youth, April 1926, cited in The Rockford Register-Gazette, May 17, 1926. Helen Fish, "Klotz First of Violin Makers of Mittenwald", p. 15. "Search Klotz Violin Illinois" via www.genealogybank.com Dictionaries of violin makers list more than 25 artisans by this name.
Typical labels: Mattias Klotz Geigenmacher zu Mittenwald an der Iser 1697 Mathias Klotz Lauten und Geigenmacher in Mittenwald an der Iser Anno 1695 Mathias Kloz Lautenmacher. A label of the family in Mittenwalt Anno 1725.
Instruments by Sebastian Klotz (1696–1768) are probably the most admired among the many existing examples by this family.
Typical labels: Sebastian Klotz in Mittenwald an der Iser 1734 Sebastian Kloz, in Mittenwald, an 1743 Seb. G. Kloz in Mittenwald, 1732
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