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Silk: From the 17th century Vienna´s demand for luxury goods made it one of the centres of the European silk industry. One of the first privately-run silk-producing companies was the silk factory at Walpersdorf (Lower Austria), which existed from 1666-1682. From the early 18th century a number of other companies were founded due to the support of Maria Theresia (e.g. C. G. Hornbostel). As many as 10,000 people worked for the Vienna silk industry in 1784 and 16,000 people in 1802. From 1848/49, when the demand for luxury goods started to decrease, the silk industry quickly lost its importance; silkworm breeding was given up in 1875. Since the 20th century silk has gradually, though not completely, been replaced by synthetic fibres, which have been produced by companies, such as Glanzstoff Austria AG in Sankt Poelten since 1904 and Lenzing AG since the Second World War.