The legendary Café Hawelka in Vienna was opened by Leopold Hawelka and his wife Josefine in 1939. After the outbreak of World War II, the Hawelka had to be closed, and in Fall 1945 it was reopened.
The coffeehouse represents the Central European tradition of writers and artists coffeehouses as exemplified in Vienna by the Café Central before the First World War and the Café Herrenhof before the Second.
Café Hawelka quickly became a meeting point for...
more »The legendary Café Hawelka in Vienna was opened by Leopold Hawelka and his wife Josefine in 1939. After the outbreak of World War II, the Hawelka had to be closed, and in Fall 1945 it was reopened.
The coffeehouse represents the Central European tradition of writers and artists coffeehouses as exemplified in Vienna by the Café Central before the First World War and the Café Herrenhof before the Second.
Café Hawelka quickly became a meeting point for writers and critics like Heimito von Doderer, Albert Paris Gütersloh, Hilde Spiel, Friedrich Torberg and Hans Weigel. In the sixties and seventies the café experienced its peak with regular guests included Friedrich Achleitner, H. C. Artmann, Konrad Bayer, Ernst Fuchs, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Rudolf Hausner, Wolfgang Hutter, Helmut Qualtinger, Gerhard Rühm, and Oskar Werner.
The cafe has seen no major changes or repairs since 1945. It still attracts loyal regulars and tourists, most likely because of its original atmosphere. It is now run by Leopold Hawelka's son Günther and his grandsons Amir and Michael Hawelka..Josefine Hawelka died on March 22, 2005 after managing the coffeehouse for sixty-six years with her husband. She had baked the place's specialty, its Buchteln desserts (which are still made by Günther Hawelka, son of Josefine and Leopold according to the old recipe). Leopold Hawelka can still be found sitting at its entrance, greeting guests.
The coffeehouse in the Innere Stadt district of Vienna is located at Dorotheergasse 6.
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