Casa de Ferro (Iron House)

About this place

The Casa de Ferro, or Iron House, is a historic prefabricated iron building in central Maputo and one of the few well-preserved examples of iron architecture from the late 19th century. It stands beside the Tunduru Gardens, about 120 metres in a straight line from their gate. It was made in Belgium using a then-new building system patented by the Belgian engineer Joseph Danly, shipped in pieces and assembled in the city in 1892 as a residence for the district governor. The governor refused to live in it once it was finished, so it housed a series of institutions instead, including a court, a school and offices. It was moved to its present site in 1966 and restored in 2014. It is sometimes wrongly credited to Gustave Eiffel. The house has two storeys with iron verandas and an outside stair, walls clad in thin embossed iron panels with raised geometric patterns, and a red roof. It was designed so air can move between the outer and inner panels, with many windows to ease the heat, as the system was created for hot climates. The building still houses Ministry of Culture offices but is open to visitors. A visit is short, so combine it with the nearby Tunduru Gardens and Maputo Cathedral.