Guided tour of the "Casino Keller" (underground cellar vault) in Bad Ischl
Excursion into the "underworld"
When the summer temperatures rise above the 30 degree mark again, it's just the right time to visit the casino cellar. At a pleasant 12 degrees, the owner himself will bring you closer to the history of this unique Bad Ischl building.
When Bernhard Schmalnauer talks about "his" Casino Keller, his eyes start to light up - and rightly so. Anyone who has ever taken a guided tour of these venerable walls can confirm that you can really feel the history of this house.
A natural cellar for 500 years
The natural cellar with a total area of 380 m² was carved out of Ischl sandstone by hand over 500 years ago and served as a large refrigerator for the people of Bad Ischl for generations. Even the former Ischl brewery used this cellar to store its beer until 1908. The remarkable medieval building fabric of the rock cellar is largely still original.
From the dance hall to the legendary "Boart Sepp"
But not only the cellar has an eventful history behind it. After the abrupt end of the brewery, the cellar house housed the Cafe-Casino, a day café on the ground floor combined with a popular dance café on the 1st floor. Back then, things were fine here, the waiter wore a suit and bow, mixed cocktails in the so-called "Teddy Bar" and regularly played live music.
Mit dem später zum Verkauf stehenden legendären „Cafe Casino" in der Grazerstraße bot sich für Sepp Schmalnauer die Gelegenheit seinen Wunschtraum als "singender Ischlerwirt" zu verwirklichen. Die Eröffnung des Lokales fand am 16. Juni 1971 statt. Das Ischler Original, bekannt unter dem Namen „Boart Sepp“ unterhielt seine Gäste mit Gitarre, Stimme und Humor, während seine Frau Maria Schmalnauer servierte. Sepp Schmalnauer gelang es wie keinem anderen zuvor die verschiedensten Gesellschaftsschichten an einem Tisch zu vereinen und zu unterhalten.
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Guided tour of the "Casino Keller" in Bad Ischl
Carlo Battisti malte im Cafe Casino
But not only folk culture was lived within these walls, because the first floor also housed the studio of the famous Austrian painter Carlo Battisti in Schmalnauer's time. With the legendary "Cafe Casino" in Grazerstraße, which was later for sale, Sepp Schmalnauer had the opportunity to realise his dream of becoming a "singing Ischlerwirt". The opening of the restaurant took place on 16 June 1971. The Ischl Original, known under the name "Boart Sepp", entertained its guests with guitar, voice and humour, while his wife Maria Schmalnauer served. Sepp Schmalnauer succeeded like no other before to unite and entertain the most diverse social classes at one table.
If you would like to get an idea of the natural cellar and the Cafe Casino for yourself, there is the opportunity to be personally guided through the walls by the son of the legendary "Boart Sepp". Schmalnauer leads them through the cellar vault in the form of a journey through time and of course knows many an entertaining story first-hand.
After exhibitions all over the world and the awarding of the Blue Ribbon, Battisti finally settled in Grazerstraße. The combination of the painter's incomparable paintings, often also showing views of Bad Ischl, the old architecture and the walls of the natural cellar give Cafe Caison an incomparable touch to this day.
Bernhard Schmalnauer leads us through the cellar vault
If you would like to get an idea of the natural cellar and the Cafe Casino for yourself, there is the opportunity to be personally guided through the walls by the son of the legendary "Boart Sepp". Schmalnauer leads them through the cellar vault in the form of a journey through time and of course knows many an entertaining story first-hand.
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