| According
to tradition the Schweizerhaus has been around since 1766.
It was then known as "Zur Schweizer Hütte" - "at the Swiss
hut". At this time the Prater was not open to "ordinary
people". It owes its name to the Swiss hunt beaters who
hosted their imperial rulers here. During the Congress
of Vienna in 1814 the guest house was again renamed, this
time as "Zum russischen Kaiser" - "at the Russian Emperor",
fitting for the times.
1868 marked another change
in name, this time to "Schweizer Meierei" and finally
to its current name "Schweizerhaus".
In 1920 Karl Kolarik
took over the Schweizerhaus which was then regarded
by the leading media as one of the last culinary bastions
of the 225 year old Vienna Prater. Karl Kolarik sen.
was born in Vienna in 1901 and was only 19 when he became
the landlord. In 1926 he travelled with his father to
Bohemia and "discovered" Budweiser Budvar beer.
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