Family – Company – Cultural History

Lobmeyr is in its sixth generation as a family business today.
A love of the material, the emotional relationship with the product
and the commitment of personal energy defined our method of
working from the beginning. In this context each generation
leaves its trace.

In 1823 Josef Lobmeyr senior founds the company in Vienna’s Weihburggasse and soon becomes Purveyor to
the Imperial Court. Josef and Ludwig Lobmeyr (1855– 1917): Ludwig becomes the pioneer of Austrian/Bohemian crystal production and presents the company at the first World Fairs; in 1864 he is the co-founder of the
Austrian Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. Ludwig’s nephew Stefan Rath senior (1902–1960) leads Lobmeyr
into the Modern Movement and is a co-founder of the Österreichischer Werkbund in 1912. Enduring classics are created in cooperation with Josef Hoffmann and the other artists of the Wiener Werkstätte. Hans Harald Rath (1938–1968) rebuilds Austrian crystal manufacture after the war and revolutionises the chandelier. An example
of his work still hangs in the auditorium of the Vienna State Opera today. Harald, Peter and Stefan Rath (1968–2008) expand the company, enter the Arabic and Japanese markets and open a store in Salzburg.
In 1972 the chandelier manufacturer Zahn (founded 1780) is acquired. Andreas, Leonid and Johannes Rath
(from 2000) grow the international sales activities and focus on co-operations with a new generation
of designers.

Josef Lobmeyr sen. and his wife Aloisia (portrait, Friedrich Kellner 1840)
Lobmeyr business card, 1841
The sixth generation: Leonid, Johannes und Andreas Rath