History of Viennese coffee house culture
Even though the Viennese coffee house culture is renowned the world over, Vienna was not the first city in history with a coffee house. There were several coffee houses in Mecca as early as the 12th century.
The first coffee house in Europe opened in Venice in 1647. The first coffee houses in England were opened in 1650 and 1652. And in Vienna the first coffee house opened only in 1683.
Even if Vienna was not the pioneer in coffee house culture, it has - over the centuries - established a coffee house tradition like no other city in the world. Coffee and coffee houses are at their best in Vienna!