Café Procope

The Café Procope - also known as Le Procope - considered to be the oldest existing restaurant and so-called " great coffee " in the world that is located right in the Latin Quarter in Paris. It became known as the meeting place of writers and artists of the Enlightenment. It is still located in Paris 13 rue de l' Ancienne Comédie. About two centuries each visited, had the rank and name in the world of art, politics, science, or literature - or at least hoped - that Café Procope.

In 1686 it was used by the Italian Nobleman ( native Sicilians ) Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli ( 1651-1727 ) (or Procopio Cutò, Francesco Procopio Cutò which called in France François Procope ) in the Rue des Fosses Saint- Germain (now n ° 13 rue de l' Ancienne Comédie ) opened. It was the first coffee house in Paris. The great success of the restaurant quickly led to the fact that coffee houses interspersed as a Parisian institution. In addition to coffee we also got served another novelty in the Procope, the ice cream. Also stopped here the ladies of the bourgeoisie in their carriages to let yourself get on a silver tray coffee at the car.

Make the basis of, yet cozy atmosphere, pleasant surroundings ( the Théâtre du Vieux- Colombier the Comédie Française is located in the vicinity) and not least because of the offered delicious food and drinks, the café soon became a popular haunt of Parisian society. Mainly, though, it became a discussion forum of writers and philosophers, so that the café soon became the first literary café ever developed and was considered as an observation post of intellectual life.

The café in the 18th century

As Francois Procope died, his son took over the café.

In addition to the artists' meeting, the cafe is developed as a place of political exchange. It was often visited by philosophers of the time, as developed in the 18th century, the neo-liberal philosophy of France. From Voltaire Rousseau and his friend Diderot, Beaumarchais, Balzac, Victor Hugo and Verlaine to Anatole France and more important and less important philosophers of the Parisian scene - they all frequented the café as well as Napoleon Bonaparte. The café is even associated with the development of the basic ideas of the French Revolution.

During the 18th century, built the restaurant, also because it was opposite the Comédie Française, his attraction to writers, philosophers, actors and musicians further. Thus, the Procope was also a meeting place for political and intellectual opposition, which led to the royal house guests left spy on a regular basis. The French historian Jules Michelet wrote that "those who day after day in the Procope gathered, saw to appear with a penetrating view into the depths of her black drink the years of the revolution."

The café in the 19th century to today

In the 19th century the importance of Procorpe decreased as a literary café. Later owner built it to a pump room. After that, it was operated as a vegetarian restaurant. Today it is a well-known specialty restaurant in the Latin Quarter, which attempts to detail equipment of the premises to maintain the connection to the past of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Famous guests

• Denis Diderot
• Benjamin Franklin
• Jean -Jacques Rousseau
• Voltaire