He even helped out the odd Centralist who was strapped for cash – but only if they were “someone”. He knew everything there was to know about everything, but was rather tight-lipped. Herr Jean (Johann Czerny), a waiter at the Central, was just as famous as his former regulars. He sits next to the entrance, casting a rather grim, yet curious eye over guests as they arrive. Peter Altenberg can still be found in Café Central to this day – although only as a papier mâché figure. The play was of the highest quality: Alfred Polgar was a dreaded opponent and defeating Leo Trotsky (alias Herr Bronstein) was a rare and scarcely believable honour. In the lulls between heated debates, out came the chess boards. One such belonged to Peter Altenberg, who had idolised the wife of Adolf Loos, Lina. Naturally, this aura of intellectual exhilaration had a magical effect on the ladies, so every now and again a heart was destined to be broken. Its inhabitants are mainly people whose misanthropy is as strong as the craving for people who want to be alone, but also want company as they do so.” They held court at hotly contested regulars’ tables, notable names including Polgar, Loos, Werfel, Hofmannsthal, Alternberg, Musil, Kraus, Kuh, Schnitzler, Zweig, and a few revolutionaries to boot – Trotsky, Lenin and Stalin.Īs Alfred Polgar put it so fittingly: “A proper Centralist, locked in his coffeehouse, has the feeling of being cast out into the harsh world, exposed to strange coincidences, anomalies and the cruelties of the unknown.” “Café Central is located below Vienna’s line of latitude, on the meridian of loneliness. A number of famous personalities regarded this place of tranquillity, upheaval, cigars, coffee, chess and billiards as their home. In his “Theorie des Café Central” (Theory of Café Central), Viennese dramatist and essayist Alfred Polgar (1873-1955) gives a detailed insight into the nature and essence of ‘Centralists’, as Café Central’s regulars were known. Legendary ‘Centralists’ „Central is not a coffeehouse like any other – it’s a philosophy.“ Heinrich von Ferstel died at the age of 51, but the spellbinding beauty of his designs for Vienna’s Votivkirche church, Museum of Applied Arts and University of Applied Arts, as well as the Palazzo del Lloyd Austriaco in Trieste live on. This is even more astonishing in view of the words of the central bank governor of the time, Franz von Pipitz, who demanded that “the construction should be strictly economical and eschew worthless luxury”. The entire construction including the interior cost the princely sum of 1,897,600 guilders (today approx. The interior features stucco lustro, ornate paintwork, leather wall coverings and fine wood panelling. The sturdy wrought-iron gates were the work of a silversmith, and the facade is adorned with sculptures from Hanns Gasser. Today visitors can stroll through the Ferstelpassage – a wonderful setting for parties and functions, with the gentle murmur of Anton von Fernkorn’s Danube Mermaid Fountain in the background – before stopping off at Café Central around the corner.įerstel championed the use of natural materials, and only the finest stone was good enough. It was only given the name Palais Ferstel in 1982. The building was never actually intended as a city palace in the traditional sense, but as the home of the central bank and stock exchange. Incorporating whichever aspects appealed to him, von Ferstel’s elegant design combined elements of Venetian and Florentine architecture and art from the Trecento period. Architecture Palais Ferstel – or what comes of a trip to Italy.Ī slice of Italy in the heart of Vienna?! This was the brainchild of Heinrich von Ferstel, who returned from a journey to Italy brimming with inspiration, and between 18 built what is the most magnificent example of a Gründerzeit mansion house.
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