Without pub garden
With pub garden
Both ink on paper, 40×40 cm.
The k.u.k. Hofbäckerei is the oldest bakery in Linz, and the building at Pfarrgasse 17 was first mentioned in a document in 1371 as a „baker’s guild house„. Despite changing owners, it has always been a bakery since 1570. In 1851, Joseph Ramsauer took over the „bakery and shop“, adding a storey to the building and furnishing the interior of the salesroom, which remains unchanged to this day. In 1889, the oldest wooden façade in Linz was created. In 1903, the owner of the bakery, Karl Helletzgruber, was appointed purveyor to the chamber of His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Habsburg-Lorraine Tuscany. Highness Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Habsburg-Lorraine Tuscany. Karl Helletzgruber’s great-grandson Franz Rath ran the k.u.k. Hofbäckerei as a 5th generation master baker.
In 1989, Fritz Rath, who grew up in his father Franz’s bakery in the Hauptstraße in Linz-Urfahr, took over the k.u.k. Hofbäckerei in Pfarrgasse on the corner of Pfarrplatz and, with a great passion for collecting, built up the k. & k. Hofbäckerei with great passion. He had previously been a baker in England and Bavaria, but had also worked as a ski instructor and hoover salesman in between. As his father Franz Rath had handed over the business in Urfahr to his younger son Michael in 1986, Fritz Rath looked for his own business and finally opened his k.u.k. Hofbäckerei and café in the current building. The historical furnishings in the café have been complemented by many pictures and books from and about the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Monarchy.
When Fritz Rath – who, incidentally, is a member of the Dragoon Regiment 15 – was looking for a successor, Corinne Wandling from Kronstorf and Michel Dal from Linz took over the traditional bakery at Pfarrgasse 17 and continued to run the business in the spirit of the company’s tradition.
On 9 December 2024, the Upper Austrian newspaper Oberösterreichische Nachrichten reported under the title„More k. u. k. in Linzer Pfarrgasse“ that the Hofbäckerei was being expanded. It says: „Now the k.u.k.. Hofbäckerei at Pfarrgasse 17 is now expanding and taking over the empty neighbouring hairdressing salon (the façade will be retained) to extend the dining area. Michel Dal (38), who took over the Hofbäckerei from Fritz Rath together with Corinne Wandling in mid-2015, confirmed this to OÖNachrichten. An agreement was reached with GWG as the owner of the building. The remodelling is due to start in January while the building remains in operation. But that’s not all. Parts of the adjoining dental museum (which has known for a long time that it has to move out) are also taken over and become the new bakery. The „old“ bakehouse will become the kitchen. „We also want to offer lunch, salads and snacks,“ says Dal. The Linz native with Aramaic roots is the mastermind and entrepreneur in the young team. His partner Corinne Wandling is a master baker and is currently under family stress with their second child. Since the beginning of 2023, master baker Christoph Hain has completed the team as a co-partner. The Hofbäckerei employs 10 people, including four apprentices. A total of around 100,000 euros will be invested. The extension should be ready by the middle of next year. Then there will also be more Linzer Torte based on the good old „Rath recipe“ and more baking workshops. Do they want to compete with Jindrak? „If you like, yes,“ says Dal.
Homepage: https://www.kuk-hofbaeckerei.at/