Visiting Gmund
Paper elevated to art
Along Lake Tegernsee, peacefully nestled between the Hohe Tauern and Nockberge national parks lies Gmund, a colorful medieval town focused entirely on art and culture. You will find numerous galleries, sculpture gardens and artists’ studios surrounded by green hills, plateaus and hiking trails. This is a place where you come for artistic photography, authentic crafts, painting and sculpture, as well as the Büttenpapierfabrik Gmund. Just beyond the village center, in the shade of pine trees, is a honey-colored building where paper is also elevated to art.
Gmund Paper since 1829
In mid-September, we went to sample all that beauty, along with paper partner Papyrus. The road to Gmund leads over green curved landscapes and stops at an elongated country house in typical Austrian style. Immediately it becomes clear what makes Gmund so unique. ‘Papierkultur seit 1829’ can be read on a golden welcome sign: the love of the trade overwhelms you even before you pass the driveway. Gmund may be the world leader in natural papers, it may employ 140 people, but it has also remained a family business in the true sense of the word.
Jesse Marynen: “Extreme know-how goes hand in hand with warmth and conviviality. You feel that from the moment you set foot here. The passion radiates through all aspects of the company. Everyone you come into contact with has the same inspiration and conviction. Creating and producing paper is more than a craft, it’s part of an all-encompassing culture.”
Passion shines through in all aspects of the business.
In the production halls, countless papers are stacked on pallets, like a mosaic of colors.
Sustainable paper
Gmund Papier has existed for nearly two hundred years. The craft of the time is still at the heart of it. Still working with the same machines as then. Day in and day out, more than a hundred thousand different papers are brought to life, with great knowledge, skill and love for the craft. In the production halls, countless papers are stacked on pallets, like a mosaic of colors. Each one is produced in an environmentally responsible manner. Gmund generates 75 percent of all its energy itself, with no carbon emissions. In addition, each paper carries the FSC label, which guarantees responsible sourcing from sustainably managed forests and recycling. In terms of waste, Gmund even dives below two percent, 99 percent of which is also recycled.
“People again believe that high-quality print is a huge lever to get their story into focus.”
Jesse Marynen: “Gmund is a company with a story that is more relevant today than ever. By focusing on sustainability, it contributes to a healthier world, a fact that is also incredibly important to us at Buroform. In addition, the quality of the product cannot be matched. The versatility is enormous, which gives us an undeniable added value as a printing company. For example, you can choose from as many as 135 textures, each of which gives a different experience to printed matter. The fact that this paper mill is one of the few that continues to grow every year says it all. In addition, this growth is also an overall positive sign: people once again believe that high-quality printing is a huge lever to bring their story into focus.”