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Coffee Day in Vienna has been celebrated annually on October 1 since 2002. It is Vienna that is the ancestor of “Viennese coffee” and cafe establishments in their modern version. This is where the popularity of this drink began to grow in Europe and the world.
Coffee probably came to Europe from the Ottoman Empire in the mid-17th century. In Venice, a large trading city where coffee first appeared in Europe, the aromatic drink did not take root at first. But once from there to Vienna in the 1660s, coffee quickly began to gain popularity.
At first, coffee was simply prepared from beans in kitchens. It wasn’t until 1683 that the first coffee shop opened in Vienna, called “Hof zur Blauen Flasche” (translated as “Under the Blue Flask”). This coffee shop was opened by the Polish officer Yuri Kolshitsky, who, according to legend, managed to snatch several bags of coffee from the Turks, who were defeated in the Battle of Vienna and abandoned their property and utensils there.
It is generally accepted that Kolshitsky is also the author of the recipe for making Viennese coffee, with sugar and milk. Be that as it may, the new establishment immediately became very popular among local residents. Soon other similar establishments began to open in Vienna, and then in other cities in Europe and the world.
Vienna has several famous coffee shops with a centuries-old history. For example, the Cafe Central coffee shop was once the headquarters of Lenin and other Russian revolutionaries. It now sells thousands of cups of coffee per day.
There is also a coffee museum in Vienna, the Kaffee Museu, where you can see an exhibition of antique coffee makers, coffee grinders, dishes and other coffee utensils, as well as listen to a lecture or attend a master class from the city’s leading baristas.
