Creator Bio
Eduard Matasek
1867–1912
Born into a Roman Catholic family in Vienna, Eduard Matasek received no formal architectural training. He studied under his father, a master builder, and worked with a number of Viennese architectural firms, specializing in exterior decoration and ornamentation. After working on the Egyptian government pavilion at the World’s Fair (Columbian Exposition) in Chicago, he moved to Cairo, where he opened a firm with Maurice Cattaui. In addition to the Sha‘ar Hashamayim synagogue, the firm produced a number of Cairo’s landmarks, including the Bab el- Louk market (1912), villas, schools, and a hospital. Matasek’s villa in Ma‘adi was acquired by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo in the 1960s.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
Primary Source
Sha‘ar Hashamayim Synagogue Dome
When it was first built, the Sha‘ar Hashamayim (Gate of Heaven) Synagogue in Cairo was the largest building on the boulevard where it still stands. Built to resemble what was imagined to be the design…