What was to become Mauser started on July 31, 1811, when Friedrich I of Wurttemberg established a royal weapons factory in Oberndorf, a small town in the German Black Forest. The factory opened for business the next year, employing 133 workers. Mauser was manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built mainly for the German armed forces. In the 1990s Mauser was bought by Rheinmetall and by 1999 the it was sepearted into the traditional civilian rifle company and a divsion of Rheinmetall.