Austria's Lobmeyr Family Built 140 Chandeliers for Masjid an-Nabawi in 1980s
- Peter Rath supplied more than 140 chandeliers for Masjid an-Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque) in 1987, one of the largest chandelier orders of the twentieth century
- The Lobmeyr family also designed chandeliers for Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Makkah in 1975 and for royal palaces across Saudi Arabia
- The chandeliers were installed in the 1980s and still hang inside Masjid an-Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque) today, roughly 35 years later
The chandeliers lighting Masjid an-Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque) in Madinah trace back to a family crystal business founded generations earlier in Vienna, Austria.
The Rath Family and J. & L. Lobmeyr
Hans Harald Rath was born in Vienna in 1904. He took control of the family firm, J. & L. Lobmeyr, in 1938, becoming the fourth generation of the Rath family to lead the company. He built his reputation on crystal chandelier designs. Lobmeyr became one of the main suppliers of lighting to the Middle East, and the styles it created for that market also became popular in Europe.
Hans Harald died in 1968. Management of the company’s flagship store on Kärntner Straße passed to his sons, Harald, Peter, and Stefan Rath, who became the fifth generation to run Lobmeyr.
Expanding the Business
In 1972, Lobmeyr bought several smaller Viennese chandelier makers, including Jos. Zahn & Co., a company founded in 1780. This expanded the technical and design range of Lobmeyr’s workshops. The company began taking on large chandelier commissions around the world.
Around the same time, Lobmeyr opened a branch in Salzburg and became the Austrian distributor for the Herend porcelain brand. Peter Rath took charge of chandelier production. His projects included deliveries to the Kremlin in Moscow, the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, and royal palaces in Saudi Arabia.
Designs for Makkah and Madinah
In 1975, after studying Egyptian originals, Stefan Rath presented and supplied chandelier designs for Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Makkah.
In 1987, artisan Mohammad Kamal Ismail entrusted Peter Rath with supplying more than 140 chandeliers for Masjid an-Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque) in Madinah, working under Harald Rath’s direction. It is believed to be the largest chandelier order of the twentieth century.
The project was carried out mainly during the 1980s under Peter Rath, working closely with Joseph Hajjar, the lead designer at Dar Al-Handasah. The chandeliers combined traditional Islamic motifs with Viennese crystal craftsmanship.
These same chandeliers still light the interior of Masjid an-Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque) today, around 35 years after they were installed.
