From brickworks to inn
A place with history - that is the Ziegelwerk inn in Wimpassing an der Leitha in Burgenland, near the border with Lower Austria. The name already reveals what once stood on this site: a brickworks with a quarry, both still in operation until 1974. Between 1900 and 1977, the entire area was used first for lime production and later for brick production. It was the business of Johann Wimmer, Werner's and Roland's great-grandfather.
For many years the building stood empty and the site lay fallow. The owners had had the idea of reviving it in some form for some time. In 2013, they took the first step: Roland and Werner renovated one of the lime kilns with great attention to detail. Thanks to them, it is now both a contemporary witness and an eye-catcher.
The existing buildings on the site have been or are still being converted and expanded. As far as possible, they have preserved and renovated the old structures such as exposed brick and stone masonry or processed wood.
Today, instead of brick production, the focus is on culinary arts, enjoyment and events. In this way, the brickworks not only combines history and the future, but also forms a unique place to enjoy and feel good.
"When you enjoy doing something, you do it well." - Julia & Werner
It was in 2008 when Julia, from Vorarlberg, and Werner, from Burgenland, met in New York City in the kitchen of an Austrian catering company:
Julia, the career changer who turned her passion for cakes and desserts into a profession in the U.S. with a patisserie apprenticeship, leaving behind her job in business to do so.
Werner, the chef and patissier who, after training in Neusiedl and Vienna, went to New York for several years to cook at the very catering service at the German Embassy where he first met Julia.
From New York to Wimpassing
In the summer of 2010, Julia and Werner returned to Vienna. Various stations in the local gastronomy followed - from Motto am Fluss to Café Edison and Restaurant Kussmaul. Werner then took over Coté Sud and cooked his first toque (2016).
In recent years, the couple became a family whose path led (back) to Wimpassing an der Leitha: To the place where Werner's great-grandfather once ran a brickworks. In 2018, Julia and Werner finally moved to the Burgenland village with their two young sons Moritz and Emil in order to realize an inn entirely according to their ideas.
Together with Werner's brother Roland and a dedicated team, they opened the brickworks in spring 2019.