Levi Strauss, founder of Levi Strauss & Co., was born in Buttenheim, Bavaria.
Strauss was born Löb Strauss on February 26, 1829, in the Bavarian town of Buttenheim, then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. He later emigrated to the United States and became known by the name Levi Strauss.
In 1853, Strauss moved to San Francisco during the California Gold Rush and established a dry-goods business. His company later became associated with riveted denim work trousers developed with tailor Jacob W. Davis in the 1870s.
Buttenheim is sometimes confused with larger Bavarian cities such as Nuremberg or Munich because Strauss’s later commercial career was centered far from his birthplace. The town remains closely connected with his early life and houses a museum dedicated to him.