Krefeld

"A Latin phrase teaches us that "Words fly away, writings remain". Thus, the original document of Thierry Hermès' birth certificate is carefully preserved in the municipal archives of Krefeld. But a birth certificate can unfortunately also be a source of misunderstandings, a real linguistic trap for anyone interested in the history of the Hermes/ Hermès family. Unaware of primary sources, one might well imagine that the ancestors of Thierry Hermès were French, but this is not the case since extensive research on this family has revealed a specifically German lineage, the surname Hermes being quite common in the entire region of Krefeld and this since the 17th century. The result? It is frequently asserted, without providing the slightest proof, that Thierry Hermès not only had French ancestors, but also that they were Huguenots, French Protestants who took refuge in Germany after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 by Louis XIV, which gives an aura to a young Prussian saddler who emigrated to France in 1821."

"In 1821, the year of Napoleon's death on Saint Helena and the year of Louis Vuitton's birth in Anchay in the Jura, who like Thierry Hermès, will set out to "conquer" Paris, the latter permanently leaves Krefeld. In 1898-1900, during a business trip to Saint Petersburg, at the court of Tsar Nicholas II, Thierry's grandson, Émile-Maurice, will stop in Krefeld to meet a relative."