Landau

Landau an der Isar and Landau in der Pfalz are both small German towns, but it is Landau in der Pfalz — in the Rhineland-Palatinate — that gave its name to the carriage type. In the early eighteenth century, Landau's coachbuilders developed a four-wheeled carriage with a distinctive feature: two folding tops that could be raised or lowered independently. When both tops were up, the carriage was fully enclosed. When lowered, it was open. The design was a convertible, two centuries before the word existed.

The landau spread across Europe quickly. Its appeal was practical: one vehicle served as both a closed carriage for bad weather and an open carriage for pleasant days. By the mid-1700s, English and French coachbuilders were producing their own landaus. Queen Victoria favored the landau for public processions — raised tops for rain, lowered tops for waving at crowds. The British royal family still uses landaus for state occasions.

The automobile industry borrowed the word immediately. A 'landau top' on an early car was a folding or simulated folding roof over the rear passenger compartment. By the 1960s and 1970s, American car manufacturers used 'Landau' as a trim name — Ford, Chrysler, and Lincoln all offered Landau packages that typically included a vinyl half-roof and opera windows. The connection to the German town was entirely forgotten.

Landau in der Pfalz today has a population of about 47,000. It has a university, a zoo, and a wine-growing region. It does not build carriages. But its name appears on car trim packages, wedding carriages, and royal processions worldwide. The town did not seek the fame. The carriages were just good.