Café Hawelka | Bohemian Feel in an Iconic Viennese Kaffeehaus.

Café Hawelka is a historic establishment situated in a a lively, famous and beautiful area of the capital of Austria, an emblematic site  in which you can breathe the bohemian feel in an iconic Viennese Kaffeehaus, boasting a notable appeal with a a very fascinating history to narrate elevated since its inception as  a symbol in the beating heart of one the most attractive European cities also  reaching a considerable fame abroad.

Located in the District 1 in Vienna Innnere Stadt, the old historic core of the major Austrian centre at the civic number 6 of Dorotheergasse, a splendid stylish narrow lane ending at the Graben, running in a municipal corner which shows with all its coquetry, charm and fascination the refined and unmistakable majestic monumental image of the glorious times of the former emblematic Imperial House of Habsburg.

That site has always played an important role in the Hospitality and Catering Industry  since the times of its opening delighting a multitude of locals and tourists extremely interested also for its history, episodes and anectdotes  which took place in that establishment originally managed by a venture of a marriage composed by Leopold and Josefine Danzberger who started in 1939 to lead it in a very special period while Europe went to war. 

Despite the many difficulties linked to that historic time just 21 years after of the well known dissolution of the Austrian Empire led in that time by the Emperor Karl I  successor of Franz Josef I, a period in which the country with the abolishment of the Monarchy was still searching a new dimension of relevance in the Continent, Café Hawelka was able to be a focal point of a new cultural renaissance becoming a special reference of the highest Viennese nomenclature.

 Also for that it is considered an emblem of the city and of an entire Nation continuing to be in contemporary times  more alive than ever and not a long time ago concretely in 2002 an event increased furthermore its already great fame thanks to a documentary turned Queen Josefine and that site portrayed the old owners with the history narrating all the chronological stages linked to the activity of that establishment which immediately captured the attention of a multitude of people for all what that site represented and represents.

Another highlight which consecreated that Kafeehaus as a myth apart that stunning homage was a very important award achieved in recent times delivered by the Austrian Culture Ministry when the Minister Claudia Schmied paid tribute to his founder Leopold Hawelka and his legacy describing them as a legend of coffee house culture.

That honour placed that establishment as an absolute metropolitan icon in a city with a renowned Imperial past rich of glory and success which made the history of Europe  but also with less known realities like that which are also protagonists in the capital of that splendid country simply great for all what it offers of very special in its varied panorama of realities and that Cafe is a living and clear example.

Vienna is a stunning metropolis boasting a unique charming profile visible in its majestic and impressive monuments, beautiful gardens, elegant palaces and its endless cultural patrimony but it is also greatly identified in those captivating historic Literary Cafes which conquered the world for their stylish environment, refined service and definitely for their distinguished atmosphere too.

Some of them are notorious for their classy grandeur, prestige, luxury, highly stylish, full of reminiscent glitzy Baroque, Rococo architectural details and furniture reminiscent in many cases the period related to the Imperial golden ages while others are equally attractive for their captivating air with a marked bohemian spirit and image frequented by the highest local and International cultural sphere as was the case of Café Hawelka.

The history of that site is extremely captivating, rich of special episodes, very curious anecdotes and stories. 

All started thanks to the former owner Leopold Hawelka, a humble man born in Mistelbach an der Zaya, a town of Northern Austria close to the Czech border situated on the road leading to the famous city of Brno, very famous for its beautiful Baroque architecture and verdant forests in its immediate surroundings who moved to Vienna looking for fortune.

That character was son of a modest shoemaker who in young age left his homeland to reach the most important centre of the Nation where he started as several immigrants to work in a Viennese restaurant where he met his future wife Josefine who worked there.

After that first experience the couple decided in 1936 to take over the management of the former Alt Wien  Café situated in Bäckerstrasse, a street greatly localed in the superb centre of the Capital between two important squares such as the charming, monumental Stephenplatz and the eternally busy and bustling Schwedenplatz.

That place was located a short walk from the banks of the Danube river not far from the beautiful Rudolfspark, a stunning green lung pretty close to the majestic and imposing Hofburg, the magnificent former Imperial Palace and the activity since the beginning gave the Hawelkas excellent satisfactions with a brilliant start-up very useful for for their future professional stages .

After superb results and an acquired experience they decided in May 1939 to have a further challenge managing the former notorious Café  Ludwig located in Dorotheergasse. It was for them a new bet to test their capacity in a city which offered several opportunities in terms of catering & hospitality services with a notable secular tradition well rooted with in many cases brilliant perspectives for skilled people devoted to that kind of activitity.

That place was formerly the seat of the famous Chatam Bar also known as Je t'aime-Bar which for its Francophone denomination and environment was closely related and reminiscent for its spirit to the classical and captivating Parisian environments highlighted by a marked bohemian spirit often frequented by popular artists, acclaimed painters and renowned writers an establishment well known in the most important Viennese cultural entourage, inaugurated at the beginning of the 20th century, exactly in 1906.

In addition it opened its doors in a great urban area just three minutes walking from the beautiful garden, Burggarten at approximately 300, 0 metres from the famed and distinctive square Karlsplatz  just 10 minutes walking from where the Hawelkas managed their first Kaffeehaus, an area pretty popular for its lively atmosphere and with several places to go to eat out also perfect to enjoy fine cocktails in cosy and trendy taverns.

Despite those magnificent features, that period was not among the best to launch a successful activity in Austria because the country was living the famous Anschluss, the annexation of Austria to Germany which took place just one year before in 1938.

Those years certainly did not reflect the times of the eternally bustling and vibrant Vienna with its sparkling and animated cultural life which had a sort of re-birth a decade after the 1st World War re-discovering a distinguished joie de vivre.

The Viennese atmosphere was in those times characterised by considerable tensions and that magic air which highlighted pleasant and enjoyable evenings was losing its radiant appeal.

The city was totally and continuously controlled by military patrols of the Wermacht and the population feelings due to all that were pretty negative to go out to live a nightlife which was so far from the previous times after that radical change.

In addition worth a mention that time coincided with the occupation of the former Czechoslovakia when that nearest European country ceased to exist becoming in one of its most representative geographic territories the German protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and due to the proximity the climate was extremely tense.

Despite all that Leopold Hawelka was optimist considering his adoptive homeland an eternal open door to new trends linked to the Hospitality industry believing in that city able to relaunch the image of several establishments in more than one occasion attracting more and more customers and continuing to work with success but unfortunately the hopes and dreams of that gentleman were destroyed and that site sadly closed after the outbreak of the 2nd World War.


After that event which changed the destiny of Europe, Vienna in that period was occupied by the allied troops and it was a time characterised by a slow and laborious reconstruction saving what could be saved with many people living with sensations of an uncertain future and many worries.

 
While all around the major part of buildings were in total disrepair fortunately the structure hosting Café Hawelka  was still largely intact, it miraculously escaped from severe damages and in September 1945 the Kaffeehaus officially restarted to be active opening its doors but to be immediately operative was not so easy.

 

The beginning was highlighted by numerous difficulties  and the coffee was initially prepared on a temporary set up in the kitchen-bellied stove with a stovepipe through the window directly onto the street. 

To heat the oven that man and his wife went for several months once or twice a week walking around the surroundings collecting wood, a hard life but all that was useful to restart a new stage.

The customers who sat at the tables of that site in those very difficult 40's were mainly pensioners, local traders, a small group of former aristocrats who had to leave their homelands, a very varied presence which was increased by some smugglers who supplied the establishment with spirits and cigarettes.

 It was undoubtedly a pretty peculiar mosaic of people because at difference of other Cafes which were generally frequented as clubs by loyal members with identical or similar cultural background or interests in common, Café Hawelka was a meeting point of different social classes and cultures.

Despite that a very special detail which worth a mention was that the owner had a chat with everybody, there were not discriminations or privileges for a determined clientele and all the clients were constantly received by the owner in a very kind and polite way always with a smile and with a great sense of hospitality.

He personally assigned the different customers a table starting to talk about different kinds of issues and topics related to past and future, conversations particularly highlighted by hopes to re-see a Vienna as before with many chats regarding all what in the city was going on.

That Coffeehouse since the 50's  had a notable transformation not in its interiors or a new glitzy image but because it became a recognised destination in the Austrian Capital with an ample clientele which quickly increased especially in 1955 becoming a relevant meeting point for writers and distinguished people mainly linked to the highest Viennese literary movements.

Those times were highlighted by the presence of characters pretty popular such as Franz Carl Heimito Ritter von Doderer, Friedrich Torberg, Hans Weigel, Hilde Spiel and Albert Paris Gütersloh among others. 

All those figures were famed artists, highly appreciated for notorious works in the previous years and part of an artistic sphere considered the soul of a city which desired to live a sort of renaissance with that nomenclature as leaders.

Since then started the legend of Cafe Hawelka constantly highlighted by an unmistakable bohemian feel transforming that site in an iconic Viennese Kaffehaus with those prominent thinkers who  found in that site their favourite habitat, highlighting days and evenings with speeches and new challenging ideas.

 It was a perfect environment to enjoy among a cup of warm coffee, a bottle of fine Spitzer Graben wine or a glass of selected Cognac to enjoy intellectual chats in a peaceful and relaxing haven in a place which never changed aspect and it was also loved for that.

The atmosphere was often highlighted by animated and intense philosophical conversations attracting a multitude of people fascinated by the shows of those popular daily protagonists who always had something to transmit including with irony and sarcasm  and that was in its kind a new wave highly appreciated by many locals who felt in that literary revival a great source to hope in a very new positive future.

The success continued also in the 60's, a special period in which that Cafe probably reached the major audience of its history receiving more and more customers, a  boom also generated by the closing in 1961 of  the famed Cafe Herrenhof considered in that time one of the most prestigious in the entire Vienna. 


Due to that a large number of other poets, writers and philosophers needed a new seat for their meetings and for that Café Hawelka became a loyal destination for many of them also because already frequented by the previously mentioned crowd of thinkers and artists.

In a very short time that site attracted a distinctive generation linked to the most affirmed and acclaimed Viennese art scene of that period and among the regular guests there were Konrad Bayer, Oskar Werner, Wolfgang Hutter, Ernst Fuchs, Rudolf Hausner, Friedrich Achleitner, Helmut Qualtinger, Gerard Rhüm, all pillars of the most trendy cultural movements very active in that time.

Next to them other notorious bohemian characters linked to literature amd painting coming from abroad with iconic characters such as Elias Canetti, Andy Warhol and Arthur Miller  during their stays in Vienna started with extreme pleasure to frequent that traditional and artistic literary Café.

It was since then that site lived its second golden cycle reached great levels of popularity at International level and undoubtedly the presence of those  famous personalities supported its increasing success with a further notable index of affluence.

Despite all that we must not forget that the brillant escalation of that renowned Kaffeehaus was thanks to the hard work of the owner who started with his hard work much before of those unforgettable years.

A special detail is the always polite manners of Leopold Hawelkas who led that establishment in a masterly way, an aspect which was in its kind the winning key which opened the door to those illustrious guests.

The previously mentioned Franz Carl Heimito Ritter von Doderer, a famous Austrian writer linked to a wealthy and aristocratic family of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire often criticised by that man wrote something of highly interesting in 1960 about that site: "It is already known in London, it also known by people from Paris and Holland...and why: In the end only because Mr. Hawelka not renovated."

Those words were certainly very appropriate, that site kept in its interiors an extremely marked incomparable nostalgic charm closely related to its unchanged aspect and that description of no renovation attracted for that many famed people who found in that environment something special and unique.

Those times which saw the city related to many trendiest changes were in some cases managed with unsuccessful results while that place with protagonist the preservation of its setting remained like a sort of beloved haven with a genuine true identity and that promotion by von Doderer with that famous comment undoubtedly made the rest.

 As you know sometimes determined environments frequented by bohemian circles with artists protagonists of the scene start to create a marked atmosphere talking about their creations and future projects with a philosophy highly characterised by inspirations generated by an unaltered reality of the atmosphere encircling them.

That no change was probably a source of continuous ideas for all what there was around those figures who felt that place part of them  transmitting constant energies to create sensational works in a setting where they did not need glitzy details or a grandeur which were not identified as main priorities because the trendy and the new for many Bohemian profiles is loved and accepted by personal choice if it gives them the right sources of creativit . 

The distinctive air of that cafe in its conserved image totally loyal to the choice of the owner continued to be the beloved haven of those thinkers without desires to move in another place which did not offer the same.

In its simple furniture and details the establishment never had relevant mutations and all appears so true to the eyes of the customers managed by a kind of unique owner who never wanted to transform it in something of sumptuous or linked to an innovative fashionable appeal because Leopold Hawelka in all simplicity did not have that obsession.

That habitat was for him a sort of happy marriage and the man seeing the clients so happy was very pleased simply for that. He never had the intention to manage a re-arrangement which could cause rejection and negative sensations towards a setting which was appreciated for what it was in its pure essence.

Usual chats with all and a smile for everybody were also the success of that Viennese Kaffeehaus and also that increased the feedback which highlighted the history, true identity of something born to donate a comfortable break in all its authenticity. 

The atmosphere you will breathe in Café Hawelka is classic but adorned by a fascinating simplicity, for someone it could be considered partially retro but it is not sophisticated at all probably details which in their kinds were all together the successful key making that place so loved.

Established in a building with sober light facade and marked outlines with an austere doorway you will see inside marble circular tables with wooden chairs reminiscent in something some French Belle Époque Bistros you can find in Montmartre or Montparnasse, a warm and mastery of the dark woods in wall panels and old furniture are part of a welcoming environment.

The space immediately invites to have a quiet and pleasant chat in a reality which was never luxurious but delighting everyone for its captivating layout highlighted by a brown floor on which were placed sofas with red and white lines, a  timber coat standing in the same position, framed pictures fixed in strategic positions on the walls, soft lights, all together fundamental elements protagonists of that conservative magic aura which never died and it is eternally alive than ever.

Combined to all that there is also in the air that unmistakable aromatic smell of coffee which adds a further fascinating feature with the immediate feeling to be in a very welcoming and true place also for that detailed presence.

While costly reconstructions make other cafes losing their charm or popularity because the new aspect generated disappointment for wrong aesthetic choices, the success of that place was undoubtedly that unaltered charm totally preserved a fine museum in over 70 years of humble existence in which it only had little changes during the days of the post war.

Another attraction which for many was very relevant consisted to see the iconic figure of Mr. Hawelka always sat in the same place waiting for to serve the clients with his perpetual kindness and with a cloth of the same colour in his hands.  

Also that remained imprinted in the memories and eyes of who saw that image which became part of the history of that Cafe, a special feature which is in its kind made history. 

There are also curious episodes which supported the fame of that Kaffeehaus as one which took place in 1975 with a notoriety reaching several international frontiers.

It tells the story of a man who was naked in that establishment and he held immediately first in the list of Austrian music linked to a humorous song written and performed by a famous songwriter called Georg Danzer, an appreciated artist in those years for his versatility and talent playing different genres such as Pop, Blues and Folk rock.

That talented musician who was also associated to the group Austria3 protagonist with Rainhard Fendrich and Wolfgang Ambros since the late 90's composes a comic song titled Jö schau, with a phrase saying "was macht eine Nackerter im Hawelka" which translated means what makes a naked in Hawelka, linked to that streaker around the Cafe which probably consolidated much more the prestigious name of that coffeehouse.

In that period due to that very peculiar and extremely bizarre anecdote that place became in a very short time a sort of pilgrimage destination highlighted by a massive presence of curious people and tourists attracted by the popularity of that song which narrated that hilarious story. 

In additon that event also called students, other bohemian artists and intellectuals of the 70's generation who started to visit several times that place after all that.

The success of that establishment reached other lands and probably Danzer with that hilarious song trasmitted inspirations to the music industry. 

Some groups In Germany as the famous Düsseldorf Band, Kraftwerk refers in a song Trans-Europe Express on the Hawelka but without the name of that site, the words of that work said "In Wien sitzen wir im Nachtcafe", a phrase which translated means In Vienna we sit in a night cafe. Another German group from Stuttgart took the name of the establishment and also in Holland it was mentioned in a song by the Band Nits.

The Cafe is also well known for its gastronomic specialities as the tastefully and  delicious Buchteln, a kind of sweet stuffed roll filled by jam whose recipe comes from the former owner Josefine Hawelka according to a creation of her mother. That lady died on 22nd March 2005 after leading the cafe for 66 years with her husband who died in December 2011.

Although those kind owners are not there that iconic Viennese establishment continues its successful activity and glorious tradition welcoming every customer as in the past and that famous homemade cake is still prepared and served as many years ago presents as a great sweet highlight.

The son Günther and the grand sons run the activity today in a great way preserving the brilliant history of a place which will never die and it continues to transmit beautiful sensations simply sitting there delighted by that  indisputable appealing aura.

Vienna is always a magic destination all year, eternally highlighted by its more than charismatic atmosphere and a visit to that place could be something to plan without hesitations filling your stay with something of very special in its kind.I added some links below to know a bit more the reality of that site and something to plan your itineraries in the Austrian Capital.

That very nostalgic image with a marked artistic spirit is so alive than ever there in a establishment which was the meeting point of  relevant intellectual spheres of different generations and provenance and it could be certainly a further brilliant incentive for you to sit there for a while spending a pleasant time.

The chance to have a warm delicious coffee accompanied by a slice of Sacher Torte or that famous homemade tastefully Buchteln could be another great idea enjoying a sweet taste of something of typical breathing that bohemian feel which continues to be present in that iconic Viennese Kaffehaus with the image of Leopold Hawelka could still be sitting at its entrance welcoming the guests.

It is very easy to reach that site, if you are in Stephanplatz after a visit to the majestic Stephansdom, the stunning Gothic Cathedral, you can enjoy a walk in the captivating area of Graben and Singerstrasse and in a few minutes from there you will be there in a while.In the case you are in another area of the city by U-Bahn, the Viennese tube you can take the U1 or U3 red, orange lines stopping at Stephanplatz Station.  

If you are planning to visit that superb European Capital on the banks of the everlasting inspiring Blue Danube highly fascinating all year that Cafe located at 6 Dorotheergasse which conquered people of different social class and culture  will be an enjoyable souvenir and a piece of history of a stunning city to take home with you conserving pleasant memories of the enchanting Vienna which also offers in places like that all its radiant and enchanting charm.

Francesco Mari

Useful links

 www.hawelka.at

www.wien.info 

www.aboutvienna.org 

www.wien.gv.at