Vienna’s coffee houses: why you can sit for hours

In a Viennese coffee house nobody expects you to leave when the cup is empty. You can order one coffee, read the newspapers on the rack and stay for the afternoon. The staff will even top up the glass of water that arrives with the coffee without being asked.

That is the short answer to the title: the Viennese coffee house grew up as a place to spend time, not just to buy a drink. Since October 2011 the practice is on Austria’s national inventory of intangible cultural heritage, in a description that says time and space are consumed there, while only the coffee appears on the bill.

What makes it different from a café elsewhere

According to Wikipedia’s summary, the classic Viennese coffee house has marble tabletops, Thonet chairs, newspaper tables and interiors in a historicist style. The menu goes well beyond coffee: sausages and other small dishes, and cakes such as Apfelstrudel, Millirahmstrudel, Punschkrapfen and Linzer torte.

Two habits stand out for visitors. First, lingering alone for hours with a newspaper is normal, which is not the case in every café tradition. Second, the waiter brings a glass of cold tap water with the coffee and, during a long stay, often brings more without a request. The idea is to show the guest steady attention.

The writer who called it a club

The Austrian writer Stefan Zweig described the coffee house as a kind of democratic club, open to everyone for the price of a cheap cup. In his account a guest could sit for hours to talk, write, play cards, receive mail and read as many newspapers and journals as they wanted. He credited that daily supply of international news with part of Vienna’s cosmopolitan air.

The writer Peter Altenberg went further: he had his mail delivered to Café Central. Karl Kraus’s journal Die Fackel is said to have been written largely in cafés, and the circle of regulars included Arthur Schnitzler, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Theodor Herzl and Alfred Adler.

Where the story begins

The popular legend says a Polish officer, Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki, got the bags of strange beans left behind after the Ottoman siege of 1683 and opened the first coffee house. Many Viennese cafés still hang his picture in the window.

According to more recent research cited by Wikipedia, the first coffee house in Vienna was opened in 1685 by Johannes Theodat, also known as Johannes Diodato, an Armenian businessman. Fifteen years later, four Greek-owned coffee houses had the privilege to serve coffee. So the legend is charming, but the documented story starts a couple of years later and with a different person.

A near-disappearance and a return

From the 1950s, many famous coffee houses closed, as television spread and modern espresso bars appeared. Many of the classic ones survived, though, and a renewed interest in the tradition, plus tourism, brought a comeback. Café Frauenhuber, on Himmelpfortgasse, dates from 1824 and is described as the oldest in the city.

In practice

• Order one coffee and stay. A glass of water will arrive with it; nobody expects a second order to justify the table.
• Ask for the bill when you are ready. The waiter will not rush you.
• Read what is on the rack. The newspapers are part of the house.
• Try the pastry. Apfelstrudel and Linzer torte are standard on the list.
• Visit Café Central if you want the historic setting (Herrengasse 14, in the Palais Ferstel), and a quieter neighbourhood café if you want to see how locals use the place.

The same unhurried logic runs through why Spaniards eat dinner so late and why coffee costs less standing at the bar in Italy: in each country the table or the counter tells you how that culture treats time.

Frequently asked questions

Is it rude to stay in a Viennese coffee house for hours?

No. According to the description of the tradition, lingering alone for hours with a newspaper is normal, and the staff bring more water during a long stay.

Why do Viennese coffee houses serve water?

A glass of cold tap water comes with the coffee as a sign of attentive service, and it is refilled during a long visit without being requested.

Who opened the first coffee house in Vienna?

The legend names Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki after the siege of 1683. According to recent research, it was Johannes Theodat (Diodato), in 1685.

Is the tradition officially protected?

It has been on Austria’s national inventory of intangible cultural heritage since October 2011.

Sources

• Viennese coffee house culture, Wikipedia: the 2011 listing, characteristics, the water, Zweig’s description, the 1683 legend and the 1685 account, the decline from the 1950s and the list of notable coffee houses. Check the Austrian national inventory of intangible cultural heritage (UNESCO Austria) for the official entry.