Freken Bock, Art cafe in Turgenevsky Lane, Taganrog, Russia.
Freken Bock is an art cafe located in Turgenevsky Lane in Taganrog, Russia, set inside a mansion from the 19th century. The interior combines a dining area with walls covered in photographs and decorative elements drawn from both Russian cinema and Scandinavian literature.
The building was originally the private home of a nobleman named N. Nikolaev before it was taken over by the state and divided into apartments in 1925. It opened as a cafe in 2009, when it received its current look and name.
The name of the cafe refers to a character from Astrid Lindgren's Karlsson-on-the-Roof stories, which connects the space to both Russian and Scandinavian storytelling traditions. Photographs of actress Faina Ranevskaya line the walls, as she famously voiced the character in the Soviet animated version.
The cafe sits on a quiet lane in the historic center of Taganrog and is easy to reach on foot from the main sights. Reservations by phone are possible, which can be helpful on weekends or during local holidays.
In 2013, the cafe's barista won the southern qualifying round of the Russian Barista Championship, which is a rare achievement for a small city. This means the coffee here has been taken seriously at a national level, something worth keeping in mind when ordering.
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