UNMÜSSIG – 80 Years of Family Business
Unternehmensgruppe UNMÜSSIG
On September 18, 2026, the UNMÜSSIG Group celebrated its 80th anniversary – a truly extraordinary milestone. Numerous guests from the worlds of politics, business and society accepted the invitation to the anniversary symposium held that morning at Freiburg’s historic Kaufhaus. For the family-owned company, now in its third generation, and particularly for Hans-Peter Unmüßig, it was important to use this special occasion to contribute to the discussion of current political and social issues through a panel discussion. Prof. Lars Feld, Director of the Walter Eucken Institute in Freiburg, the former mayors of Freiburg and Ludwigshafen, Dr. Dieter Salomon and Jutta Steinruck, the Managing Director of the Freiburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Dennis Bihler, and Hans-Peter Unmüßig came together under the moderation of Dagmar Rosenfeld to reflect on and discuss the topic “Trust. Responsibility. Reliability. Understanding Trust as an Asset – Strengthening Democracy” and to engage the highly interested audience in the discussion.
The UNMÜSSIG Group celebrated its anniversary with a gala evening attended by approximately 700 guests from politics, business and society. The existing building, the former OBI site on Basler Landstraße, was given a spectacular transformation especially for the occasion and was once again brought to life for the gala. The building will soon be demolished to make way for the redevelopment of the “unsr St. Georgen” quarter by the UNMÜSSIG Group.
Stefan Heidbreder, Managing Director of the Foundation for Family Businesses, delivered an impressive keynote speech, highlighting what it has meant – both in the past and today – to lead a family-owned business and successfully pass it on to the next generation. Addresses by Freiburg’s Lord Mayor Martin Horn and Managing Director Dennis Bihler paid tribute to the achievements of all generations of the company and their contribution to Freiburg. The emotional highlight of the evening was the documentary “80 Years of UNMÜSSIG”, produced especially for the anniversary and featuring the company, its employees, business partners and the UNMÜSSIG family. The guests paid tribute to the lifetime achievements of company owner Hans-Peter Unmüßig with several minutes of standing ovations. The interview with Hans-Peter Unmüßig was conducted by Karina Mößbauer, who also hosted the evening’s programme.
The company’s 80-year history of being open-minded and embracing opportunities beyond Germany was showcased on a large presentation wall in the former garden centre, transformed for the occasion into the “UNMÜSSIG Gallery”. It formed part of an immersive presentation of the company’s history throughout the building, taking visitors on a journey through the eight decades of UNMÜSSIG’s development.
