Art and designלאופולד קרקואר

Leopold Krakauer

Leopold Krakauer was an Austrian-born architect and painter who worked in Mandatory Palestine and Israel from 1924 and is known for his modernist buildings and charcoal drawings.

1890 to 1954Modern architecture in Mandatory PalestineCharcoal drawings of Jerusalem landscapesKibbutz dining halls

Born: 30 March 1890, Vienna
Died: 19 December 1954, Jerusalem
Occupation: architect, painter
Education: Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

Leopold Krakauer was born in 1890 in Vienna

Krakauer was born in Vienna on March 30, 1890. His father, Joseph-Moses, sold iron products.

From 1907 to 1912 he studied engineering and architecture in Vienna, first at the Higher Technical School and then at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts. Before World War I he worked in a planning office and as a draftsman for architect Karl Seidel. During the war he served in a technical unit on the Italian front.

In 1919 he showed paintings with an avant-garde group in Vienna, where he met the painter Greta Wolff, whom he married. In 1924 the couple moved to Mandatory Palestine with their daughter Trude Dotan. He worked for Alexander Baerwald in Haifa, then opened his own office in Jerusalem.

He designed private homes, dining halls and public buildings for workers' settlements, and helped bring modern architecture to the country. As a painter he focused on charcoal drawings of Jerusalem landscapes, thorns and figures. In 1948 he joined the committee that chose the symbol of Israel.

He died on December 19, 1954, and was buried at Har HaMenuchot in Jerusalem. Stamps with his work were issued in 1978 and 1990.