The antique shop Bücher Ernst – located at Dr.-Karl-Lueger-Platz close to the Stubentor underground station – is not only a place for book lovers. Upstairs, there is a wide range of old vinyl records from traditional Viennese music to Psychedelic Rock and Heavy Metal classics. Like the other branch of Bücher Ernst on Gumpendorfer Straße, the small, atmospheric shop is mainly specialised in rare books, maps and engravings. Selling old goods – especially books – has a long tradition in Vienna and started more than 230 years ago, when the rules for booksellers allowed trading with antique books for the first time. The industry quickly developed as secularization and the decline of aristocracy changed the Viennese society at the beginning of the 19th century. At the same time growing interest in sciences raised demand for old books. Despite universities, school, libraries and monasteries being good customers of the antique shops, most of the booksellers had a hard time running their businesses. Many of them suffered from poverty. After several up’s and down’s in the bookselling industry since then, antique shops are nowadays omnipresent in the city and add their share to Vienna’s historic flair.

www.buecher-ernst.com