Jewish Vienna in Leopoldstadt

Your hotel in Vienna's second city district

Vienna's second city district, Leopoldstadt, is affectionately known by Viennese as 'Mazzes Island'. 'Mazzes' is a Yiddish word meaning unleavened flatbread. The Jewish community still plays an important role in Vienna. Jewish guests frequently stay at the Hotel Stefanie to trace the footsteps of Vienna's Jewish past.

Photo of a silver Hanukkiah in the Jewish Museum in Vienna

Your kosher breakfast in Vienna

International, religious and cultural diversity, as well as tolerance – these are the hallmarks of hospitality at Vienna's Schick hotels. Accordingly, Vienna's oldest hotel , the Hotel Stefanie, is always delighted to welcome its numerous Jewish guests. Start off the day with a kosher breakfast , which we will be happy to serve upon prior reservation (with surcharge).

A stroll through Jewish Vienna

Set out on a walk from the Hotel Stefanie to the Karmeliterplatz, where an active Jewish community has formed again over time. Carry on from there past kosher grocery stores and kosher restaurants. On your excursions through today's second city district , you will also encounter nine synagogues and houses of prayer, as well as numerous 'stones of remembrance' or 'stumbling blocks', as they are colloquially known.

The history of the Jews in Vienna & and the Jewish quarter of Vienna

Jewish life in Vienna has been well documented since the 12th century. Over time, the city of Vienna developed into an important European hub of Jewish culture. Towards the end of the 19th and the early 20th century, this culture was at a peak.

In 1624, Emperor Ferdinand assigned today's second city district (Leopoldstadt) outside the city walls as a residential quarter to the Jewish population of Vienna. Despite the hardships they suffered, the Jewish community kept returning to this district of Vienna, which was closer to the centre and more convenient for trading and crafts.

The National Socialists expelled almost the entire Jewish population of Vienna. Before 1938, around 60,000 Jews lived in Leopoldstadt; today, there are only 3,000 - but the community keeps growing.

Remembrance & coming to terms with Vienna's Jewish past

The Jewish Museum of the City of Vienna was established in 1988 to keep the history of the Jewish community in Vienna alive for succeeding generations as well as to understand and contextualise the past.
Moreover, the Holocaust memorial on the Judenplatz, created by British artist Rachel Whiteread, serves as a reminder of the atrocities committed National Socialism. The Museum Judenplatz, a satellite exhibition space of the Jewish Museum, also explores this subject.

Discover the Jewish soul of Vienna on a stroll through the city. Follow the stations of the Jewish community, such as the City Temple of the Jewish Community of Vienna, the Jewish Welcome Centre, the Jewish Museum Vienna and much more. The old Jewish cemetery of Vienna's Central Cemetery, the Sigmund Freud Museum and the Schönberg Centre also merit a visit. For other activities relating to the Jewish Community in Vienna, please contact the Jewish Community .

Schick Hotels Vienna donate the Jewish Community Vienna

Support for the Israeli Religious Community Vienna

Schick Hotels Vienna are very happy to support the Jewish Community in Vienna, whose main focus in 2024 will be scholarships for children to attend school. In this way, low-income families can be supported, as school and thus a good education offers children support and stability in the current stormy times.

Sponsor of the Austrian Cultural Days in Tel Aviv

The Schick hotels are committed to the revival of Jewish culture outside of Austria as well. Hence, they regularly sponsor the Austrian Cultural Days in Tel Aviv, founded by Judith Weinmann-Stern. The high-profile event with numerous well-known artists focuses on people who had to flee from Austria during the Nazi period. The event strives to reconcile them again with the music of their youth and to add joy to their life in this way.

Schick Hotels Vienna also supports various social projects, such as the Kindertraum foundation, the Lichtblick association, the SOS Children's Village, as well as environmentally friendly initiatives, including Noah's Ark and Fairtrade.

Would you like to explore the Jewish history of Vienna in more depth? Plan your stay at the Hotel Stefanie, your kosher hotel right in the centre of Vienna, today. Simply book your room online and benefit from the advantages for direct bookings !