The history of the company "Knox Räucherkerzen - Apotheker Hermann Zwetz" goes back to 1865, when Hermann Eduard Zwetz was trained as a pharmacist. In 1877 he took over the Löwen pharmacy not far from Halle and produced the first incense candles there.

Incense candles were initially produced mainly in pharmacies or drugstores and were sold as disinfectants or medicines because of their air-purifying effect. "Therapeutic smoking" was a well-known term in 18th century medicine, but smoking with aromatic substances can also be found in much older cultures as a cleansing, healing or mystical element. In addition, the image of ascending smoke is associated with the cosy warmth of a fireplace or the minutes of relaxation when smoking a pipe in the evening.

Due to the increasing sales of wood turned Smoker figurines, the demand for incense candles also rose steadily in the 20th century, so Herrmann Zwetz sold the pharmacy 10 years later and in 1888 acquired a plot of land for his future "smoking agent and glow material factory", in order to devote himself entirely to the production of incense. In 1919, pharmacist Carl Bayer succeeded him as owner of the company for another generation. In 1952, Erich Koch - who also registered today's brand name Knox in 1958 - bought the smoking agent factory and moved to Mohorn-Grund, where "Knox Incense Candles" is still located today. The idyllic village with many beautiful half-timbered buildings is nestled in the romantic hills of the Tharandt Forest and is a popular local recreation destination. In 1997 a modern, new production facility was built, which also includes a museum on the history of the company "Knox/Apotheker Hermann Zwetz" and on the smoking tradition, as well as a sales room and a craft workshop.

Knox incense cones in the Erzgebirge palace

From traditional Christmas scents like fir or frankincense to gingerbread and vanilla or other modern mixed scents like Brandy Punch and Coffee Latte, or fruity refreshing summer scents like orange, Knox offers every fragrance your heart desires. If you love it a bit more extravagant, you can also "taste" exotic blends like opium and patchouli with your nose.

Of course, our assortment also includes the Knox "Mini Incense Candles", a potpourri for small Smoker figurines. A special gift idea is the Knox Incense Cones Advent Calendar, whose colourful frontside shows funny dwarfs very diligently busy with incense cone production. For the summer we recommend the "summer giants", a mixture of fruity fragrances with 30 minutes burning time each, which keep away annoying insects and are delivered with a metallic burning bowl.

Conclusion

For many decades, the name Knox has stood for the highest of quality in the field of smoking candles and other smoking agents. The selection is almost limitless, and the scent inventors at Knox always create new fragrances, often oriented to the spirit of the time. The "basic recipe", consisting of high-quality charcoal, saltpetre and various binding agents, is processed into a dough and varied by all sorts of finely chopped resins, herbs or scented oils to a wide variety of scent experiences. Naturally, the quality and purity of the raw materials used are carefully taken into account.