Weltraum Bar — Hofmühlgasse, the 4th

• Indoor
• Bar
• Gallery
• Performance space
• Cocktails
• 4th district

What It Is

Weltraum is a bar, gallery, and performance venue all at once. The name — German for "space" — signals the register: this is not a conventional bar with art on the walls, and not a gallery with a beverage service. It's genuinely both, in equal measure. Four founders built it together and did the renovation themselves, which shows in the kind of detail you notice when you're actually in the room.

The space opened in May and operates Wednesday to Saturday evenings. There's no website, no booking system, no event calendar — just Instagram and word of mouth. That kind of low-visibility operation usually means either it won't last or it becomes the kind of place people actively protect by not shouting about it.

The Four Founders

Maron drives the concept and is an artist himself. Tom brings gastro experience. Felix is an actor. Markus handles the legal side. The mix is deliberate — different perspectives, different skills, different reasons for being there. They wanted to create something that didn't feel like a designed product, something that could grow and change. The renovation itself was done by the team, which is why the space has texture: reclaimed materials, custom details, a sense that this was built by people who cared about the specifics.

The Drinks and the Room

Cocktails are made with fresh-pressed juices — rote Rübe, Karotte, Zitrone, Granatapfel. Not pre-bought, not convenience. That philosophy extends to the whole operation: intention over efficiency. There are plans for small snacks (Pastrami sandwich, Mozzarella and tomato), and eventually a regular brunch.

But the real point is the room itself and what happens in it. Art rotates on the walls. Vernissages and finissages are planned — two of each per month. Musicians, performers, and people with their own formats can use the space. The bar prices are standard — this isn't a premium cocktail spot — and the point is the community that forms around it.

The 4th District Angle

Wieden (the 4th) has been quietly building something over the past few years. It's not the 6th or the 7th — it doesn't have that established independent-cultural-scene reputation yet. But there's a texture emerging: small galleries, artist-run spaces, venues that opened because the founders believed in the neighbourhood, not because the rent was cheap. Weltraum fits that pattern exactly.

In the margin

Komm als Alien, geh als Freund.

That's the motto. It's the kind of thing that could sound cheesy, but in this context it lands — a space where different people actually do come together and something real happens.