RATHENOWER OPTISCHE WERKE

Rathenower Optical Works (ROW)

By 1896, there were 163 optical companies established in Rathenow, which is why it became known as the “City of Optics”. As well as camera equipment, microscopes and other scientific apparatus, spectacles were produced by some companies. During World War II, many of the factories (which had been producing military equipment) were destroyed and after the war they were expropriated and merged, becoming the Rathenower Optical Works in 1948. During the Cold War, ROW produced microscopes. When the Iron Curtain fell, they became a public limited company. Their microbiology division now operates under the name “ASKANIA Microscope Technology Rathenow GmBH”.