Vienna’s coffeehouses are an iconic and fundamental element of Vienna’s culture. But how did these spaces become such an established element of everyday life in Vienna?

While you might think that coffee is central to the coffeehouse tradition, more than the actual cup of coffee, locals also look forward to the possibility of meeting friends there, hanging out, diving into a book or a newspaper, or just a time for reflection without being disturbed, all in comfy and cozy spaces.

So how did coffee initially arrive in Vienna?

Legend has it that during the Battle of Vienna in the mid 1600’s, the turks fled the city leaving behind some sacks of coffee beans. One heroic military officer that had been held captive in Turkey and had tried coffee before, recognized the coffee beans, that he obviously dearly missed, and received the first license to serve coffee in Vienna in 1868, leading to the opening the Blue Bottle Coffee House. Coffee houses have been so important to Vienna’s life, that a street was even named after the heroic military officer, Georg Franz Kolschitzky.

Of course, this was not the first Coffee House. Coffee was already huge in the Middle East, and Venice already had a famous coffee house before the first one even opened in Vienna. So Italy might have “the best coffee” but Vienna definitely has been doing coffee houses the best!

The First Coffee House(s)

While Officer Georg got all the credit for opening the first coffee house and beginning this tradition, actually the first coffee house ever in Vienna was already open and run by a spy – Diodato from Armenia- who also happened to work for the Imperial Court in Vienna. To honor him, Diodato got a park named after him (although unlike Georg, he has no statue).

The Evolution of the Coffee Houses

Early coffee houses already had some playing cards and board games- everything you might need for a good social time with friends while sipping on some coffee. But what about the introverts looking for a place to hang out you might ask? In 1720, the Kramersches Coffee House had the brilliant idea of putting out some newspapers for their visitors, which of course turned out to be a hit! Most of us who go to cafés outside of Vienna have to take our own newspapers unfortunately.

Then, there came a time when coffee became extremely expensive in Vienna thanks to Napoleon’s continental blockade from England in the early 1800’s. The coffee tariffs sky rocketed. But the resourceful coffee house owners of Vienna did not take long to come up with the next brilliant idea in the history of coffee houses: not only offering coffee in the menu, but also warm meals and even beer and wine! This is why we can find such a great menu that suits all occasions and times of day in the cozy coffee houses.

Ending Door Discrimination

By the early 1800’s coffee houses already had all their lovely elements, including elegant furnishings and luxurious chandeliers. And while officer Georg and spy Diodato have been largely considered as the heroes in this story, obviously the real heroes are those that campaigned to end the little-known discrimination policy of coffee houses that in the end made it impossible for roughly half of the population to enter their establishments. That’s right, the men that frequented these cozy places tried to keep these little gems all to themselves, banning the entrance of all women. But in 1856, women found out what they were missing out on and made sure the laws were changed. Ever since, Viennese coffee houses have only benefitted from their mixed sex clientele.

Coffee Houses in Vogue

By the late 18th century, coffee houses were the favorite places of writers, artists, and intellectuals of the time (also non-intellectuals but their pictures are not on the coffee house’s walls). They didn’t just choose one favorite, but spent their time among the different ones in the city whenever they wanted to get out of their apartments. Viennese locals saw in these coffee houses potential as their extended living rooms, and that’s how they’ve been dubbed ever since. Politics, art, music, psychology- it all took shape in these spaces. Famous people that frequented these extended living rooms included Mozart, Beethoven, Sigmund Freud, Klimt and Trotsky, among others.

The Habsburg royalty was also fan of the delicacies typically sold in these coffee houses. The famous Sacher Torte (Sacher Chocolate Cake) was actually created for one of the Habsburg princes and several coffee houses developed the most known royal sweets. By the 19th century, the coffee house tradition was deeply established in Vienna and an everyday part of social life for the middle-upper class & high circles.

The Decline of the Coffee House

During and post WWII the coffee houses saw a sharp decline in popularity. Jewish coffee houses were destroyed by the Nazis in 1938 and Vienna’s Jewish population, who had been very influential in the coffee house culture, decreased significantly. In addition, “modern” espresso bars started gaining popularity in the 1950’s and Viennese locals found them more exciting than the traditional coffee houses that now seemed old-fashioned. Many coffee houses closed down around this time.

Coffee House Culture Revival

Coffee houses could not be forgotten for too long, and in the early 1980’s on the occasion of the coffee house’s 300th anniversary, Viennese locals returned to the coffee houses and were reminded of all the great things about them. The coffee house institution picked up again, and in 2011, Vienna’s coffee houses were declared as national cultural heritage by UNESCO under the following description: ‘where time and space are consumed, but only the coffee is found on the bill’.

Personal Coffee House Recommendations:

• Café Landtmann: my favorite coffee house in Vienna. I did not like apple strudel until I tried it here, and now it is my all time favorite dessert. Amazing menu.
• Café Central: this elegant coffee house will certainly bring you back to Vienna’s imperial past.
• Kleines Café: Cute laid-back coffee house right on a nice square in the center of Vienna. It’s quite small (as the name suggests in German) so consider yourself lucky if you get a spot!
• Café Prückel: 50’s style coffee house near Vienna’s train station. It’s not made to be retro, it was refurbished in the 50’s and has kept its style ever since.
• Conditorei Sluka: Lovely coffee house with a beautiful stained-glass roof and extensive menu.

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