{"id":20393,"date":"2019-11-07T05:28:44","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T04:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=20393"},"modified":"2025-09-10T07:32:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T06:32:03","slug":"cafe-schwarzenberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/cafespubsbars\/cafe-schwarzenberg\/","title":{"rendered":"Caf\u00e9 Schwarzenberg"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/schwarzenbergsmall.jpg\" alt=\"Cafe Schwarzenberg sign\" class=\"wp-image-20396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/schwarzenbergsmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/schwarzenbergsmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>When the staff of Caf\u00e9 Schwarzenberg open up in the early morning, they&#8217;re conducting a ritual that began on the premises over 150 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>First opened in the 1860s and once the haunt of architect and designer, Josef Hoffmann<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ticks all the boxes for a traditional Viennese coffee house<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lovely views of late 19th century architecture out the windows<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-walking-tours-l205287\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_Coffee\" rel=\"sponsored\">historical walking tour<\/a>* in Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nearby: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/haus-musik\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"16237\">Haus der Musik<\/a> (with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/wiener-klassik-ensemble\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"85663\">concerts<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/cafespubsbars\/coffee-houses\/\">Vienna coffee houses<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/food\/coffee-glossary\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1863\">Coffee glossary for Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Named for a prince<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cafeschwarzenberg2.jpg\" alt=\"View down Schwarzenbergstra\u00dfe\" class=\"wp-image-47517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cafeschwarzenberg2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cafeschwarzenberg2-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(I do love coffee house fonts)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back in the early 1860s, Abraham Lincoln took up the office of President in the USA, and civil war broke out a couple of weeks later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Around about the same time across the ocean in Vienna, Johanna and Raimund Hochleitner opened a coffee house in a newly-constructed town palais.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The location? On the K\u00e4rntner Ring, part of the impressive and prestigious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/ring\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1546\">Ringstrassen<\/a> boulevard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/history-of-the-ringstrassen\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"68027\">created at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so Caf\u00e9 Schwarzenberg was born. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To be fair, the coffee house only got its current name at the start of the next century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The name change seems almost inevitable, given the close proximity of Schwarzenbergstra\u00dfe, Schwarzenbergplatz and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/schwarzenberg-monument\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"40807\">Schwarzenberg monument<\/a>&#8230;all named after Karl Philipp, Prince of (surprise) Schwarzenberg.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/schwarzenberg1865.jpg\" alt=\"The palais at K\u00e4rntner Ring 17 in the 1860s\" class=\"wp-image-65782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/schwarzenberg1865.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/schwarzenberg1865-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The building when it was new, photographed sometime around 1865 by Andreas Groll; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 93021\/132; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our esteemed prince earned all these municipal tributes through his military exploits against Napoleon at the 1813 Battle of Leipzig. He commanded the army that spelled the beginning of the end for the French emperor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given its age, the coffee house remains a living monument to the Ringstrassen caf\u00e9s that originally catered to 19th-century Viennese society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The decor inside has changed since then, of course, not least because the Russians used the insides for target practice during the post-WWII allied occupation of Vienna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dark hardwood panelling lines today&#8217;s Caf\u00e9 Schwarzenberg, topped with a tiled ceiling and glass chandeliers. Worn wood and cracked leather seats (spotless in their old age) help give it a particularly warm resonance for the colder months; an outdoor section has seating for sunnier seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><br><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-slug-ids=\"exp206741,exp238032\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"DA_ConcTour\"><\/div><script defer src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Look closely and you&#8217;ll find patterned wall coverings, too, that echo those you see in other historical places like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/albertina\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2995\">Albertina art museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The overall impression is very much in the honourable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/coffee-house-experience\/\">tradition<\/a> of the Viennese coffee house, right down to the upturned spoon on the glass of water that comes with your coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That particular tradition stems from the days of silver spoons, when hosts wanted to make sure their guests saw the hallmark on the cutlery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pick the right seat, and you enjoy a view up Schwarzenbergplatz to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/hochstrahlbrunnen-fountain\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"30035\">Hochstrahlbrunnen fountain<\/a> and giant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/red-army-memorial\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"30069\">Red Army memorial<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or look across to the  Erzherzog-Ludwig-Viktor-Palais, built in the same decade that the Hochleitners started serving coffee. It now houses a theater.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cafeschwarzenberg.jpg\" alt=\"Cafe Schwarzenberg entrance\" class=\"wp-image-47515\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cafeschwarzenberg.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cafeschwarzenberg-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Outdoor seating fronts the main entrance)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you use your time inside to make a few sketches on a pad, you&#8217;re following in the footsteps of a frequent visitor to Caf\u00e9 Schwarzenberg: the great architect, designer, and co-founder of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/wiener-werkstatte\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"28911\">Wiener Werkst\u00e4tte<\/a>, Josef Hoffmann (1870 &#8211; 1956).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I used my hour or so to edit a novel, inspired by a fine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/food\/coffee-glossary\/\">Wiener Melange<\/a> and a slice of Sachertorte from the extensive collection of cakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The caf\u00e9&#8217;s not a particularly literary location, mind, or a former home to great philosophers, but it is a time-honoured representative of what it means to be a coffee house in traditional Vienna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A place to ponder the scars and memories left over the past 150 years of city history, admire the surrounding architecture, and gird your loins with a Fairtrade organic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/food\/coffee-glossary\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1863\">Einspanner<\/a> or traditional Viennese meal.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cafeschwarzenberg1.jpg\" alt=\"Cafe Schwarzenberg from across the street\" class=\"wp-image-47516\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cafeschwarzenberg1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cafeschwarzenberg1-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The caf\u00e9 runs down two sides of the lower floor of the building)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Incidentally, Caf\u00e9 Schwarzenberg has another traditional business as a close neighbour within the palais building. The other side houses the <em>Internationale Apotheke<\/em>, a pharmacy first established around 1870.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to take the luxury level up a few notches, cross the Ring to the five-star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/accommodation\/best-hotels-musikverein\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"49471\">Hotel Imperial<\/a>, which has its own caf\u00e9 and even its own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/food\/imperial-torte\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"5838\">cake<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you prefer fish and chips to cake and coffee, head up Schwarzenbergstra\u00dfe toward the town centre to pass Flanagan&#8217;s: an Irish pub and excellent place to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/sport\/football-pub-bar\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"7337\">watch football and rugby<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reaching Caf\u00e9 Schwarzenberg<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Given its location alongside the Ring boulevard, getting to the caf\u00e9 is easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subway: the coffee house sits roughly half way between the Karlsplatz (U1, U2 and U4) and Stadtpark (U4) subway stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tram\/bus: As the photo above shows, a bus stops right outside: the 2A line that meanders through the old town. Trams 2, D and 71 all stop close by, too (the Schwarzenbergplatz stop).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: K\u00e4rntner Ring 17, 1010 Vienna | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cafe-schwarzenberg.at\/\">Website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1qxMhuM31vUOcHvWtm9QzWRPeiURPKwCX\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When the staff of Caf\u00e9 Schwarzenberg open up in the early morning, they&#8217;re conducting a ritual that began on the premises over 150 years ago. Named for a prince (I do love coffee house fonts) Back in the early 1860s, Abraham Lincoln took up the office of President in the USA, and civil war broke [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20396,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20393","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cafespubsbars","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20393"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85686,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20393\/revisions\/85686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}