Classic Matador has been captivating children for one hundred years . Many Europeans above the age of 30 have grown up with the legendary Matador construction kits. Johann Korbuly, the man who invented Matador in 1860, was born into a merchant family in Vienna as the seventh of 18 children. The reason to invent this legendary toy was a simple one. Korbuly's youngest child kept destroying the wooden block constructions of its older siblings. The engineer knew how to prevent that by drilling holes into the wooden blocks and using rods as a means of connecting the blocks. So peace was restored in the family and Matador was born. Soon Korbuly went about to technically and geometrically improve his wooden blocks. He standardised them and constructed blocks made of beech wood in a way to create a system of blocks in which all parts could be combined with each other. In 1903 the first construction kits were put on the market. With the name "Matador" Korbuly didn't intend to create associations with bullfighting, but he wanted to emphasise the superiority of his wooden blocks. There's an old German idiom that says: "He is a Matador, a hero, in his field." Since then, Matador has become immensely popular.