The history of the Birkenstock “shoemaking dynasty” can be traced back to the first documented mention of Johannes Birkenstock (1749–1812), registered on March 25, 1774, as a “vassal and shoemaker” in local church archives in the small Hessian village of Langen-Bergheim. Since that time, there have been five generations of master shoemakers or part-time shoemakers, several lines of the Birkenstock family working in the shoemaking trade and finally three generations of shoe manufacturers. In 1774, Johannes Birkenstock had already trained as a shoemaker and settled in the small Hessian town of Langen-Bergheim; he became a master shoemaker shortly afterwards. After his younger brother Johann Adam Birkenstock (born 1754) died in 1790, his son Johannes (1790–1866) grew up with his uncle Johannes and also became a master shoemaker.