In Graz city center

An inn with a lot of heart: Die Herzl turns 90

Edith Seitinger has been managing the Herzl with great passion for 20 years(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

The traditional restaurant Die Herzl in the center of Graz has 90 years on the bar. Edith Seitinger has been at the helm for 20 years - through corona, price pressure and a shortage of waiters.

Edith Seitinger has experienced it all. Students who danced so wildly on the tables that they had to be slowed down a bit. Families she has accompanied from the cradle - a christening - to the grave - grandpa's funeral. Lovers who press themselves deep into the vault because it's just so romantic there. The first date, the first kiss - the second wedding. Just like the Styrian who celebrated his first in the Herzl - after the death of his beloved wife, the widower married her best friend, again in the shade of the famous tree in the courtyard.

Dining next to celebrities
The landlady is happy to tell anecdotes - but she would never divulge which politician is meeting with which one - but she is happy to tell how delighted many guests are when they dine at the same time as Mario Barth (tattoo legend), Mario Barth (comedian), Jazz Gitti or Michael Ostrowski. The restaurant is famous for its down-to-earth food, even if vegan dishes are also available in keeping with the times.

If these walls could talk - they would speak volumes. Robert Herzl opened the restaurant in the heart of the city center to guests 90 years ago, but the history of the establishment goes back much further. "There must have once been a pub here, like most of the buildings on this square back then," says Edith Seitinger. "The gate is just right for a carriage entrance, and there must have been a stable too."

The wine tavern was already a magnet for guests in Robert Herzl's time and still is today in its rustic vaults.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

The establishment has experienced and survived turbulent times, even in recent history, with "an agonizingly low 30 meals a day after corona", recalls Seitinger. Today, there are 600 on peak days.

Less alcohol is being consumed
Many things are changing rapidly; today, for example, the boss sums up, much less alcohol is consumed than in the past, but more attention is paid to dessert. The landlady, who actually studied architecture but previously managed local giants such as the "Graba 43" or the Keplerkeller, observes all the changes with great interest. Her prognosis: "Gastronomy as we Styrians know it is dying out," she says. "What will remain is high-priced and system gastronomy, which requires few staff."

Gastronomy as we Styrians know it is dying out. What will remain is high-priced and system gastronomy, which requires few staff.

Edith Seitinger

This is the biggest problem, which the 58-year-old can only overcome in her restaurant with "hard-working permanent staff" and personal commitment. "But only because the job is my life and I don't need any free time, otherwise it would never work." She doesn't think it's right that her guild is currently seen as a price driver. "In truth, we were very underpriced before coronavirus, and we had to catch up at some point. And our industry is being hit by cost increases from all sides - electricity, rents, the extremely high adjustment to the collective agreement."

Times are changing, the Mur continues to flow, the Herzl has stood like a rock in Graz's gastronomic surf for 90 years. Many hearts will still fly to the Herzl. In walls that have already seen a lot of history. And will experience a lot more.