The space beneath our feet sometimes hides a city’s coolest places. That’s the case for this subterranean cocktail bar in Vienna. The krypt.bar is tucked away in a forgotten 18th century cellar that was only recently uncovered after renovations on Berggasse—a famed street associated with Sigmund Freud. Designed by Büro KLK, this secret bar breathes new life into the historic setting, and it’s decorated with minimalist furniture designs of the International Style.
The 18th century cellar on Vienna’s traditional Berggasse was found after workers struck upon a bricked up staircase. It let to a twelve-meters-deep cellar with handsome brick vaults. Further digging into cellar’s history showed that it once operated as a semi-legal establishment in the jazz area of the mid-20th century.
Related: Historic 7th-century cellar in Spain renovated to celebrate the history of wine-making
Büro KLK preserved the brick vaults and underground feel of the place, and added luxury materials and high-quality furnishings such as Knoll’s famous Platner Arm Chairs and Ubald Lug’s Sofa DS-1025. Write the designers: “The whole static structure as well as the ventilating pipes and further installations, were cladded in composition gold. The floor plate is covered with a layer of Italian nero marquina marble manually laid in a herringbone bond. The cladding of the bar counter was cut out of a massive block of Sahara noir laurent gold marble applied in a mirrored pattern, and the counter plate was crafted out of a massive European walnut.”
Photography: David Schreyer
