Key West Publishing :

It is hard to believe that generations of Birkenstock family members have been designing and crafting footwear since 1774, when Johann Birkenstock worked as a shoemaker in a small German village.

It all started when in the 1890s, Konrad Birkenstock, Johann's descendant and a custom shoemaker himself, had a revolutionary idea. He decided to create a show that matched the actual shape of the human foot. These were all custom made and were a great success. Unfortunately, the next decade brought the introduction of cheaper factory-made shoes and a decline in the demand for custom-made footwear.

However, that did not stop the Birkenstock family. He made an insert that followed the natural contours of the foot and more importantly the arch of the foot, and could be placed in almost any shoe. Konrad and his son Carl improved and refined the arch supports over the next 50 years. Their unique and popular product became known as "footbed supports" and the word "footbed" was registered as a Birkenstock trademark.

Konrad's grandson, Karl, joined the family business in 1954. He wasn't happy that the family company was known for just making the shoe inserts, that frankly were for a limited clientele, people with bad feet. He wanted to create a shoe for everyone that would make them feel as comfortable as if they were walking barefoot. Not that is quite a dream since most people think shoes are the most unnatural piece of wearing apparel possible, only good for protection, not comfort. He took the grandfather's idea of flexible arch supports and combined it with his own knowledge of how the foot works when walking.

It took ten years of research and design, but eventually the first model, the Madrid, the first of the Birkenstock sandals rolled out.

In 1966, just in time for the more casual days of the Woodstock generation, a lady named Margot Fraser bought her first pair of footbed sandals while vacationing in her native Germany. She discovered that the sandals greatly alleviated the chronic foot pain she had experienced since childhood. She brought Birkenstock sandals to the United States and the rest is history.

Today, Birkenstock offers more than 400 styles of Birkenstock sandals, clogs, and shoes. Birkenstock sandals are available in a wide range of materials, colors, and sizes, and new materials and styles are introduced each year. They are still ugly, still comparatively expensive, and still probably the best footwear on the planet.