HISTORY OF DARTZ – BTAZ – RBVZ
1869
The Russo-Baltic Wagon Factory (German: Russisch-Baltische Waggonfabrik; Russian: Русско-
Ancestors of Current Owner
1874
Opulent Wagon for the Tzar
1894
In 1894 the majority of its shares were sold to investors in Riga and St. Petersburg, among them local Baltic German merchants F. Meyer, K. Amelung, and Chr. Schroeder, as well as Schaje Berlin, a relative of Isaiah Berlin. The company eventually grew to 3,800 employees
Isaiah Berlin
1907 – Decision to Build Cars
1908
In 1908, an automobile department was established in Riga. Director – Ivan Alexandrovich Fryazinovsky.
26-year-old Julien Potterat, who had previously worked for the Belgian firm Fondu, was invited to the post of chief designer.
Fondue cars became the prototype of the first Russo-Balts.
As at the begining there were no exact department name in documents was useв abbreviation from French words Département Automobile de Riga or D.A.R. which later became part of modern DARTZ name.
Actually, from the very beginning, the cars were produced under the name “Russian-Baltic”. The name Russo-Balt was fixed due to the abbreviation of the name in French – Russo-Baltique (Russo-Baltic).
A portrait of Julien Potterat published on March 3, 1911 in the “Journal de Riga”. Тhe newspaper bears his signature
1909 was built first car
1910
At the end of 1910, the joint-stock company RBVZ acquired the Frese and K Coachbuild Factory, a pioneering Russian automaker and one of the worlds first EV creator
EV car by Frese & Co (now FreZe EV) 1902
1869
1909
1912
1912
1913
1914
1922
1922
1988
2016
