Café Kranzler is a famous

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany. Opened in 1834 on the

Unter den Linden Unter den Linden (, "under the Tilia, linden trees") is a boulevard in the central Mitte (locality), Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. Running from the Berlin Palace to the Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the Tilia, linden trees (known ...

boulevard in the central

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuz ...

district, its

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

branch on

Kurfürstendamm The Kurfürstendamm (; colloquially , ; ) is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former (prince-electors) of Brandenburg. The broad, long boulevard can be considered the of Berlin and is lined with s ...

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

became an icon of

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

after World War II.

History

In 1825 the Austrian-born confectionist Johann Georg Kranzler (1795–1866) began business in a small pastry shop (''

Konditorei A is a business that typically offers a wide variety of Pastry, pastries and typically also serves as a café#In Europe, café. (plural) are found in many countries including but not limited to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Denmar ...

'') on Unter den Linden No. 25, at the corner of

Friedrichstraße Friedrichstraße, or Friedrichstrasse (see ß; ) (lit. ''Frederick Street''), is a major culture and shopping street in central Berlin, forming the core of the Friedrichstadt neighborhood and giving the name to Berlin Friedrichstraße stat ...

(present-day site of The Westin Grand). Refurbished as a coffeehouse according to plans designed by the architect

Friedrich August Stüler Friedrich August Stüler (28 January 1800 – 18 March 1865) was an influential Prussian architect and builder. His masterpiece is the Neues Museum in Berlin, as well as the dome of the triumphal arch of the main portal of the Berliner Schloss. ...

, the original Café Kranzler was opened in 1834. Including a sun terrace, outside tables on the pavement, an ice-cream parlour and a smokers' room, it swiftly gained the reputation of being one of the city's finest cafés, also after the rivalling Café Bauer opened vis-à-vis in 1877. Café Kranzler was particularly known for its New Year's Eve celebrations that even were broadcast on national radio. In May 1944 the parent house in Mitte was destroyed during the

Bombing of Berlin in World War II Berlin, the capital of Germany, was subject to 363 air raids during the Second World War. It was bombed by the RAF Bomber Command between 1940 and 1945, the United States Army Air Forces' Eighth Air Force between 1943 and 1945, and the French ...

. The Charlottenburg branch was opened in 1932, in the rooms of the former

Café des Westens The Café des Westens, on No.18/19 Kurfürstendamm in Berlin, was a coffeehouse which operated from 1898 to 1915, and became famous as a meeting place for turn of the century artists. It was known colloquially as ''Café Größenwahn''; the Germa ...

on Kurfürstendamm No. 18/19, which ran till the building's destruction in 1945. After the war, the building was reconstructed employing contemporary model designs. However, the renovation disregarded historic features and height limitations of the building. Following the renovations business was resumed at the site in 1951. The current flat-roofed ''Kranzler-Eck'' building, with its distinct rotunda and red-white touched awnings, was erected in 1957/58. The Charlottenburg branch, in what was then West Berlin, went on to become a major tourist attraction of the ''

Wirtschaftswunder The ''Wirtschaftswunder'' (, "economic miracle"), also known as the Miracle on the Rhine, was the rapid reconstruction and development of the Economy, economies of West Germany and Austria after World War II. The expression was first used to re ...

'' era. However, after the fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

in 1989, the Café Kranzler fell victim to the massive redevelopment programme which has since then been changing the face of the city. In 2000 business discontinued and the Kranzler re-opened as a small bar in the rotunda on the second floor above the retail premises of a

Gerry Weber Gerry Weber International GmbH (formerly, ''Gerry Weber International AG'') is a German fashion manufacturer and retailer based in Halle (Westf.), North Rhine-Westphalia. The business which was established in 1973 as Hatex KG by Udo Hardieck an ...

store, built-in the ''Neues Kranzler Eck'' office building and shopping complex designed by

Helmut Jahn Helmut Jahn (January 4, 1940 – May 8, 2021) was a German-American architect, known for projects such as the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany; the Messeturm in Frankfurt, Germany; the Thompson Center in Chicago; One Libert ...

. Since December 2016, the building’s main tenant is British fashion label

Superdry Superdry plc (stylised as SUPERDRY®︎冒険魂) is a British clothing company, and owner of the Superdry label. Superdry products traditionally combine vintage Americana (culture), American styling with Japanese-inspired graphics. Founded ...

while the cafè is currently leased to local coffee-roasting house The Barn. It now attracts a younger student clientele who enjoy sitting on the floor cushions.

References

External links

Café Kranzler – The Barn Coffee RoastersNeues Kranzler EckKranzler memories from 1969-71
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cafe Kranzler Coffeehouses and cafés in Berlin Coffeehouses and cafés in Germany 1834 establishments in Prussia