Café Hawelka – Inspiring coffeehouses

This traditional Viennese café located in the heart of Vienna is not only known for its infamous Buchteln (jam-filled sweet rolls made of yeast), but also for the VIPs it’s attracted over the years. A café for artists and a hotspot especially during the early 60s – people such as Oskar Werner, Ernst Fuchs, Heimito von Doderer, or Friedensreich Hundertwasser showed up and made this their second home. The Austrian musician, Georg Danzer, was so inspired to immortalise the café in his song “Jö schau” in which he sings about a naked guy hanging around in the Hawelka. Now taken over by tourists, this place carries history and the aura of it haven’t worn off.  The owners were also beloved personalities amongst those who knew them – Josefine and Leopold Hawelka. Josefine would prepare the coffee on a wood fire stove which was fuelled by wood Leopold would collect in the Wienerwald. They both were talents at charming the guests and making them feel at home. This is a very special place when it comes to Vienna’s past creative and intellectual scene. Imagine the ideas and words that filled the place back in the day!