Ferdinand Mülhens

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (August 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (May 2025) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Ferdinand Mülhens]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|de|Ferdinand Mülhens}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Ferdinand Mülhens (December 23, 1844 – January 15, 1928) was a land owner and entrepreneur in Königswinter, Germany. Mülhens was born in Cologne.^[1]

In the 19th century he managed the perfume factory founded by his grandfather Wilhelm Mülhens at Cologne's Glockengasse 4711, producing the original Eau de Cologne. As owner of the 4711 brand, he received an imperial warrant as purveyor to the imperial and royal court in Vienna.^[1]

During the years 1912 to 1914, he set up Hotel Petersberg near Bonn, which later become the Guest House of the Federal Government of Germany. Since 1913, he was the owner of the Drachenfelsbahn, a mountain railway line in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany.^[1]

From 1922 until his death, Ferdinand Mülhens was an honorary citizen of Königswinter.^[2]

• Karl Michael Armer et al.: Muelhens. Cologne-Paris-New York, the Culture of Beauty; Zweihundert Jahre 4711. DuMont, Köln 1992, ISBN 3770131215
• Eau-de-Cologne- und Parfümerie-Fabrik Glockengasse No. 4711 gegenüber der Pferdepost von Ferd. Mülhens. 160 Jahre 4711. 1792–1952. Köln 1952
• Wilhelm Treue: "Ferdinand Mülhens (1844–1928)". In: Kölner Unternehmer im 18., 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. (= Rheinisch-Westfälische Wirtschaftsbiographien, Band 12.) Aschendorff, Münster 1986, pp. 158–180