A Brief History of the Marque
The Wittler firm (Heinrich Wittler & Co., postwar Wittler Bros.) of Bleichstraße 77a, Bielefeld,
Founded in 1924, the company built motorcycles powered by 250cc two-strokes, in addition to bicycles.
They introduced commercial transport tricycles in 1936 powered by 98cc Fichtel & Sachs engines. Available as a front or rear loader, they had a tubular steel chassis with power transmitted to the rear wheels by chain. Fewer than 80 were built by the end of 1937, when dreirad production ceased.
Post-war, they built lightweights, mopeds and motorised tricycles using JLO, Sachs and possibly Zundapp or Lohmann engines 1950-1956.
There was also a Wittler moped produced in Horsens, Denmark during the 1950s by Hede Nielsens Fabriker. It seems that they were built under licence to the German company whose logo they used, but were fitted with engines from VAP, BFC, Estonia, Express and others - there were numerous models. The same firm apparently built, or marketed, Wotan mopeds - see Wittler (Denmark)
The Wittler firm continues to operate at the original address in 2024, now run by a fourth generation member of the family - gebrwittler.de.
Sources: Moped Archive, GTU Oldtimerservice, Axel Oskar Mathieu Archive, et al.
N.B. There was also Heitmann & Wittler 1938~1953 (H&W), unrelated.
