Description of the attraction
Havelka Cafe is a famous literary cafe in Vienna. The cafe was opened in 1939 by the married couple Leopold and Josephine Havelka on Dorotheergasse Street on the site of the previously existing Chatman Bar. At the beginning of World War II, the cafe was forced to close until the fall of 1945. There is a rediscovery: Josephine brews coffee on a wood-burning stove, and Leopold personally brings firewood from the Vienna Woods. Together they take care of the well-being of the guests - visitors begin to love the cozy cafe.
In the fifties, the cafe became very popular among the creative public. Writers, artists and actors began to come to the cozy cafe. Among the regular clients were such people as Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Oskar Werner, Friedrich Thorberg, Ernst Fuchs, Andre Heller, Helmut Kwaltinger, Heimito von Doderer and many other outstanding people. When, in 1961, another fashionable literary cafe, the Herenhof, closed in Vienna in 1961, many creative personalities began to spend their evenings in the Havelka.
The heyday of the café's popularity came in the sixties and seventies. Guests from other countries are starting to come to the cafe, for example, Elias Canetti, Arthur Miller and Andy Warhol. Politicians and journalists come to the café to check out the latest trends. The crowd comes to see living legends and try their luck. Leopold greets guests with delicious coffee, and Josephine sculpts incredibly tasty and aromatic dumplings for celebrities.
Josephine Havelka died on March 22, 2005 after 66 years of running the cafe. She gave the recipe for her signature dessert, which can still be tasted here, to her husband and son. Leopold died in 2011 at the age of 100. Until his death, he came to the cafe every evening to serve hot cakes to the visitors. After the death of Josephine and Leopold, the cafe is run by their son Gunther.
