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The Spirit of Spittelberg

Majestic pine trees decorated with never-ending chains of light, cheery Christmas songs that fill the cold winter air, the taste of gingerbread and Vanillekipferl, waffles and almonds, the irresistible smell of sweet punch and spicy hot-mulled wine, vendors selling their handcrafts in little wooden huts decorated with pine branches – Vienna is a chilly paradise around Christmas, a reputation it owes largely to its Christmas markets that, emerging like little enclaves at the end of November, are scattered all over the city until the new year.

Spittelberg is one of them. A special one.

Tucked behind the Museumsquartier in Vienna’s 7th District, with its winding cobblestone alleys and Baroque buildings, the Christmas market at Spittelberg, once an insider tip, has become a hotspot for locals who want to enjoy a glass of hot-mulled wine or punch off the beaten – i.e. touristy – track.

No obnoxious Christmas music blaring from the loudspeakers, no drunken raucous bawling, no disturbing blinking lights… the Spittelberg market isn’t primarily about consumption, it’s about capturing the spirit of Christmas, the best of childhood, the mellowest of older age – to its many visitors, it is simply magical.

At Spittelberg, known for its arts and crafts, no hut looks the same. A wooden stand with a roof painted in purple stands right next to a much larger booth in dark brown colors with a tilted roof.

Local gastronomes, who have priority at the market, offer specialties hardly found anywhere else. Ranging from Pomegranate and Prosecco Punch, Feuerzangen Bowle (Fire Zapper Punch) and Waldviertler Feuerflecken - a salty puff pastry with crisp dark spots, to waffles made with Urkorn flour and Amarena-Cherry-Chili Punch, the vendors at Spittelberg know how to mix tradition with innovation, old with new, classical with modern.

"Everything has to change all the time. To attract more customers, we simply need attractive products," says Hans Kamleithner, the manager of the local "Witwe Bolte" (the Widow Bolte, from the tales of Max and Moritz) restaurant, a tall dark-haired man in his fifties. The family business from the Wachau, the Danube valley west of Vienna, started their "career" at the Spittelberg Christmas market with one stand – the Punschhütte, which is still their main hut, offering different punches and hot-mulled wines produced by Kamleithner’s brother.

Over the years, three more stands were added – the Buchtelhütte, Eiskristallstand and a booth offering baked potatoes.

Having run Christmas stands at the Spittelberg market for more than 25 year now, Kamleithner himself has become somewhat of an institution in the vicinity – and who still seems to be bubbling over with ideas.

One of his first creations two decades ago, the Feuerzangen Bowle, a drink with a red wine basis and caramelized sugar, which is flamed and then filled into barrels, is still among the most popular products at Spittelberg.

"When I first set it aflame at the main square of the Christmas market, it was a huge attraction," he says, a nostalgic tone in his voice. When the city authorities prohibited open fire at the market, he had to move the production to the countryside.

Kamleithner’s stands were also one of the first ones to offer baked potatoes at Spittelberg. Besides the traditional toppings – garlic, ham, cheese, and chives – his new creations like chili-mango and chili-coriander are "no shelf warmers" either, he tells The Vienna Review.

Being the businessman he is, he also offers beer and wine for people who think it is too early for warm drinks and for the first time this year, people can also buy coffee-to-go at Witwe Bolte’s Buchtelhütte.  What the Witwe Bolte stands don’t have are "turbo mixes," drinks with additional shots of alcohol.

"You should enjoy your glass of punch or hot-mulled wine and not gulp it down to get drunk," Kamleithner says as he greets an elderly couple returning their Spittelberg mugs (designed each year by a different artist – here even the mugs are special).

"We just had one of your delicious Amarena-Cherry-Chili punches," the man tells Kamleithner, another of his many creations that, along with Witwe Bolte’s Orange Punch, have won prizes at "Vienna’s greatest punch test" conducted by famous Chef Bernie Rieder last December. Instead of a lot of alcohol, the chili does the warming from the inside.

Did they like their Amarena Cherry Chili Punch? "Yes, it was very good… but now my mouth is burning," the woman laughs.

Have they heard of the latest creation, the Prosecco Punch? No – and so Kamleithner spontaneously invites the couple to taste a glass.  A Venetian prosecco with a mix of lime, ginger, lemon and some secret ingredients that he "doesn’t want to share with a reporter," it’s Kamleithner’s favorite selection of the season.

His recipe for success, however, he is willing to talk about.

"Everything is home-made," he says. "We care a lot about where our products come from. We are not cheap, but I don’t even want to compete with stands that offer ready-made mixtures for rock bottom prices - it’s the quality that distinguishes us."

This seems to be a general trend. As competition among Christmas markets rises, more and more vendors turn to homemade quality products to appeal to eco-conscious customers.

The Waffelmacher (Waffle makers) stands have a similar approach. They use Urkornmehl that they cultivate themselves at their farm in the Waldviertel in Lower Austria. No preservatives, aromas or chemical additives are allowed in the freshly baked waffles that are served with cinnamon, chocolate, honey or even pumpkin seed oil and poppy.

"We are farmers for the heart and for nature, we plant the grains with our hands. Unfortunately, living off of that is hard," Peter Brezina, one of the waffle makers, confesses. Brezina, whose mother used to sell her waffles at local advent markets had the idea to expand to Vienna and St. Pölten in an attempt to finance their farming.

"But we also want to raise awareness," he adds. He thinks that people do want to know where their food comes from and prefer healthy, environmentally conscious choices over "ready-made junk."

"We need to re-educate our customers. Quality is important," Kamleithner asserts.

But it is not only the quality of his products that explain Witwe Bolte’s success at Spittelberg but also the stories behind them.

"You always need a reference to a stand," Kamleithner explains.

The story behind the Eiskristall stand that opened last year goes back to a legend from the Salzkammergut and the ice crystals growing on the Dachstein, the highest mountain in Styria and Upper Austria. Every year in November, Kristallträger (crystal carriers) harvest the crystals and carry them down to the valley to spread the special glow of the winter.

This year, the Kristallträger brought the crystals – and with it the spirit of Christmas – to Spittelberg.

- Hannah Stadlober

Altes AKH: Mistletoe and Sauerkraut