Café Schober, Historical café in Niederdorf, Switzerland

Café Schober occupies the ground-floor shop and café of a six-storey building at Napfgasse 4, whose façade and interior fittings date from around 1890 and are in the Neo-Baroque style. The house itself dates from the 13th century and was once the rear building of the Manesse Tower, demolished in 1836. Inside, the staircase has painted decoration, a baluster railing and an altana facing the courtyard; the first-floor hall has geometric Late Renaissance and Early Baroque stucco.

The house at Napfgasse 4 is first recorded in 1314 as the rear building of the Manesse tower, demolished in 1836. In 1842 the baker Johann Georg Eberle, from Pfullendorf, opened a sweet shop here; in 1874 it passed to the confectioner Theodor Schober senior. Around 1890 the present neo-baroque facade and shop interior were created, and in 1918 the first electric oven in Switzerland, built by Schober senior, began operating in the basement bakery.

The name Schober comes from Theodor Schober senior, a pastry chef from Pfullendorf who bought the house in 1874; his son Theodor junior ran the café until his death in 1983. From 1892 the shop premises were rented to the St. Gallen family Schwarzenbach, dealers in colonial goods, who moved to Münstergasse 19 in 1912. The café itself was added to the shop in 1920.

The café is located in the Old Town, just a short walk from the main station, and opens most days of the week. With multiple floors, it is easy to find a quieter or more sociable spot depending on your preference.

Theodor Schober senior, a confectioner and tinkerer, built the first electric baking oven in Switzerland, installed in the basement bakery in 1918. The building was placed under monument protection in 1976, after Teuscher converted the café into a Viennese-style coffeehouse.