Zaalberg

In 1814, the Zaalberg company started a woolen blanket factory in Leiden, the Netherlands. At the time, this manufacture still consisted of pure manual labor. In 1815 the first blankets were delivered to the army. That year the battle of Waterloo took place. Our Prince of Orange was wounded and drained, he was on top of a traditional, handmade, Zaalberg blanket, which served as a stretcher. This can be seen at the bottom left, in the famous paintings about the Battle of Waterloo. Painting by Pieneman.

The factory closes in a somewhat tragic manner in 1976, after which the blankets were put on the market and transferred to Sigmacon BV in Tilburg, under a different name.