Mara Kraul laid the foundations for today's toy company back in the 1920s. Her artistic embroidery and knitting work, which she produced with the help of homeworkers, formed the basis of the company, which is still family-owned today.

After the Second World War, her son Walter joined the company and developed his first ideas for designing toys: inspired by a giant mobile by Alexander Calder, which he had seen at the Venice Biennale, his mother now designed her own mobiles, which were made in the artisan tradition.

Inspired by his work as a Waldorf teacher at the Rudolf Steiner School in Munich and numerous nature experiences with his children, he created cable cars and water wheels, which - timeless as they are - are still an important part of Kraul's product range today

A basic concept was soon established, which was finally solidified when Walter Kraul took over the company in 1976: Toys with the elements earth, water and air, to which the fourth element fire was added with the development of the “Candle Seesaw” and the “Shadows in the Wood”-game play. The increasing business activity led to the transformation of the company into “Walter Kraul GmbH” in 1988 with the partners Walter and his wife Margarethe.

In 1989, son Christoph became a co-partner before finally taking over the management of thecompany in 1993. With Christoph, a grandson of the company founder, the company's product range continued to develop.

As a meteorologist and physicist, he primarily designed the experimental kits, which today form an important part of the product range. The basic concept of the four elements of earth, water, air and fire is also consistently pursued in a technical and scientific manner in these experimental kits. Today, the inner circle of permanent and freelance employees includes around ten people. Up to 20 others work for us as home workers and temporary staff. Cooperation with three workshops in which people with disabilities are involved in the production processes is also important to us.