Every year, in the heart of the Viennese winter, the Hofburg is transformed into the largest café in the world for the Viennese Coffee Brewers Ball, one of the most prestigious events of the ballroom season. For over sixty years, the event has celebrated Wiener Kaffeehauskultur, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, weaving together music, the arts, and social rituals in a tribute to Gemütlichkeit, conviviality, and the timeless elegance of Viennese culture.
Vienna 144 Limited Edition
For the Viennese Coffee Brewers Ball 2026, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna chooses to bring Vienna 144 back to center stage, reinterpreting it in a Limited Edition of 60 pieces, conceived as a tribute to coffee culture and its most festive and ritual dimension.
The new finishes evoke the atmosphere of café chantant and grand historic interiors: the structure is lacquered in RAL 5008 Grey Blue, a deep, matte shade selected especially for this edition. The seat is crafted in Vienna straw, a symbolic material of tradition, warm and vibrant.
Each chair is individually numbered and accompanied by an engraved brass limited edition plaque, underscoring its exclusive character.
A story that spans time
Vienna 144 traces its roots back to the early twentieth century, when Viennese coffeehouse culture became the beating heart of intellectual and social life. Cafés, restaurants, and hotels filled with seating designed to welcome, to linger, to accompany conversation. This is how Vienna 144 was born: an essential, solid, elegant chair, destined to become part of the everyday landscape.
Designed within the great tradition of bentwood and linked to the rigorous thinking of Adolf Loos, Vienna 144 interprets the idea of modernity with restraint and precision: the “quadrangular” seat, the reinforcing arches between the four legs, and the steam-bent beech structure that unites the backrest and rear legs in a single, continuous gesture. A perfect balance between function and form.
Vienna 144 continues to tell its story in the present. The chair is available in the armless version, offered with a Vienna straw seat, upholstered seat, or beech plywood seat, confirming its natural versatility.
A project that moves through time with consistency, adapting to different settings while preserving its identity: that of a discreet icon, designed to accompany everyday life with elegance.