When you walk through the doors of the Landtmann, you leave the hustle and bustle of the Ringstrasse behind you and immerse yourself in a world full of sweet history, the foundations of which were laid 150 years ago. Back then, Vienna had a different face - one without the magnificent Ringstrasse and without the world-famous Burgtheater. The town hall and the university were shrouded in dust and construction noise. But Franz Landtmann had a vision: he wanted to create something very special for the people of Vienna - the most elegant café in the city. And he succeeded. It opened on October 1, 1873 - and the whole of Vienna was delighted.
Over the years, the Landtmann has been designed by a number of loving hands and has witnessed many oddities that later became popular anecdotes. The house has welcomed many celebrities - including members of the English royal family or the Austrian imperial family, which was portrayed in films. In all this time, the inviting coffee house has lost none of its charm, none of its elegance. Even today, you can sit here on original Thonet chairs, some of which date back to the imperial era, and let your gaze wander over the historical inlay work on the walls and the mirrors from the Golden 1920s. Only once was the Landtmann in grave danger, only once did Vienna almost lose its Grand Café. Because when the owners at the time wanted to sell, it was to make way for a bank branch - like many other venerable Ringstrasse cafés.
The fact that we can now dream of a bygone era in the Landtmann with a wonderfully fragrant coffee and a heavenly sweet piece of Guglhupf is thanks to the efforts of its current owners, the Querfeld family. Herbert and Anita Querfeld heard about the impending closure and simply could not imagine a Ringstrasse, indeed a Vienna, without the Landtmann. The café was lovingly restored and carefully brought into the modern age. Today, cosmopolitanism and typical Viennese coffee house culture go hand in hand and continue to delight Viennese people and international audiences alike.
