Residenz Cafe & Restaurant in Weimar

The history of the Residenz-Cafe: The Residenz-Cafe has an over 160-year-old tradition in Weimar. This makes it the oldest remaining coffeehouse of Weimar. Although the history of coffeehouses in Weimar began 100 years prior to its founding, the history of the Residenz-Cafes and more specifically its rooms reaches back closest into this historic time, as well as the beginnings of the Classical Age in Weimar. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s first residence in Weimar, from 1776 – 1777, was located directly behind the Residenz-Cafe in the adjoining building. His one time sitting room is now used by our guests and is known as the “Goethezimmer” (Goethe Room). Court Master Pastry Chef, August Emil Theodor Ißleib, founded the Residenz-Cafe on the 7th of November 1839. This advertisement was taken out in the Weimar Wochenblatt (weekly paper) to announce its Grand Opening: “I wish to announce, to the honorable public, that due to my establishing myself as a pastry chef, I am opening a business on the 7th of November. I genuinely hope that many of you will visit my place of business and honor me with your many orders.” Along with the cafe August Ißleib served simultaneously as the Grand Duke’s Court Master Pastry Chef. It is important to understand that during this time, only the very best Masters in their fields would serve in this manner. Additionally, there was an agreement between the court and the Residenz-Cafe, in which the new Hauptwache (headquarters of the town’s defense units) was supplied with warm beer, as soon as the temperatures dipped below 10°C, and this was paid for by the Grand Duchess. August Ißleib’s son, Karl Wilhelm Gustav, took over the business after his father’s death. At this time the coffeehouse was interiorly designed in the Wiener Stil (Viennese-style) and was already a popular meeting place for Weimar’s art scene. The historical painter Friedrich Martersteig also frequented the Cafe. W. Schulte vom Bruhl gave an account of this in his 1918 autobiography, “Sechs Jahrzehnte” (Sixty Years). “… I often went together with Martersteig, who was still making a name for himself as the theater director of the larger Musentempel, in the coffeehouse of Ißleib. Here, we often met with Rudi von Milde, the younger of two singing sons of the older Milde; who was a singing legend of the court theatre, and drank Cognac abundantly…” Following the death of Ißeib there were many different proprietors: 1886 Master Pastry Chef J. M. Bauer 1887 – 1893 Court Master Pastry Chef Bertram Oberdorster, who subsequently established a cafe in Schillerstraße (Schiller Street) 1894 Master Pastry Chef Brinkmeier 1895 – 1902 Master Pastry Chef Eduart Kampf, who afterwards opened the “Cafe Kaiser” 1903 – 1905 Master Pastry Chef Paul Kaiser On January 8th, 1906 Master Pastry Chef Alfred Schmidt, took over the Residenz-Cafe and ran the cafe until 1945, nearly 40 years. During his era the Residenz-Cafe would be interiorly redesigned and refurbished. First the “Wintergarten” (conservatory) was expanded and a terrace on the upper floor was created. Along with this change Schmidt arranged the upper floor, true to original Biedermeier style. He also redesigned the terrace in front of the main entrance. It was during this time that the Residenz-Cafe truly began to bloom. In 1922 Ilja Ehrenburg was sitting here and observed: “…dignified citizens with high standing collars and the twits of the local college (Bauhaus) in something like constructivistic blouses…” There is also an anecdote regarding Marlene Dietrich. Before she became famous, the actress studied music, from 1918 to 1921, in Weimar. Even following her studies, she frequently returned to the Cafe: “She and her friends had come to the Residenz-Cafe for ice cream, and they were unable to scrape together the hundred thousand or million they needed for their tab (inflation was at an all time high). A girlfriend was able to settle the bill with a dollar; Dietrich, however, was about to leave her gold watch as a deposit.” When Alfred Schmidt died in the summer of 1945, a temporary caretaker was appointed until the business could be closed down completely. On December 31st, 1948 Master Pastry Chef Amse reopened the cafe under the name “Haus Resi” (House Resi). He ran the private business only for a short time. In 1949 it was taken over and converted to a “volkseigener Betrieb” (nationally-owned enterprise) by the Handelsorganisation, HO, (a nationally run organization which managed all restaurants and supermarkets in the GDR) and it was run by different restaurant managers. The HO kept the name “Resi” and in the early ‘60s it was renovated and reopened to the public as a “Lesecafe” (reading cafe) containing national and international newspapers, magazines and books. In the late ‘60s the cafe was completely renovated; through which, the original design was completely lost. An article in the TLZ on March 25th, 1989 discussed how the previous renovations literally removed a large portion of distinctive coffeehouse atmosphere. In the last 30 years “Resi” has become the favorite cafe for many students of the Music Academy and the University for Architecture and Civil Engineering (today Bauhaus-University). Once, in the newspaper, it said: “The largest reading room of Weimar’s universities can be found in ‘Resi’”. Many of our earlier regulars are still raving about the unforgettable Mardi Gras events that took place during the GDR times. However, when the HO was dissolved so was “Resi”; it was closed in June of 1991. In 1992 the house would be laboriously and elaborately renovated and interiorly re-designed. On the 5th of October 1992 it would be reopened under its original name, Residenz-Cafe and is being run by a small corporation from Wurzburg. This however, has nothing to do with a letter that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote to his wife in 1808: “… at the same time I do wish for a pair of Wurzburger…”(in German when speaking of people from a particular city or country the ending –er is often added to the town, city or country). Then he was speaking of his favorite wine, the “Wurzburger Stein”. After it’s re-opening the Cafe was almost immediately a favorite meeting place in Weimar. Students of all ages, politicians, architects, tourists, business travelers and many others once again meet in “Resi” and enjoy it for its ambiance, which truly makes the Cafe world famous. Here is a short list of prominent guests, who have signed or left short messages in our Guest Book since 1992: Hanna Schygulla, Lew Kopolew, Otto Sander, Dieter Hildebrandt, Gerhard Schroder, Michael Nyman, Gunter Jauch, Wolfgang Thierse, Marla Glen, Udo Lindenberg, Leander Hausmann. In 1999, as Weimar was celebrating its year as Cultural City of Europe, “Residenz-Cafe” celebrated its 160-Year anniversary with a book entitled: “Resi – Das Residenz-Cafe – Weimars altestes Kaffeehaus” (“Resi –The Residenz-Cafe –Weimar’s oldest Coffeehouse”). The authors, Ulrike Sebert and Karen Schroder, describe in the, well-illustrated, entertaining, 91-page book the 160-year history of Weimar’s Coffeehouse. This book is available in the Residenz-Cafe and many of Weimar’s bookshops.