A warm welcome!
Museum Café at the smac
Opening Hours at JULIUS IM SCHOCKEN:
Tuesday to Sunday: 11:00–17:00
Thursday: 11:00–20:00
(Mondays: closed)
Our kitchen is open
from 12:00 to 16:00
About our café
Julius im Schocken
We’re happy you’re visiting us here in the virtual space!
When you come to Chemnitz, to the smac, and to our lovely museum café, you’ll experience how much care we put into your well-being – body and soul. Our international team goes the extra mile for you: Denise will charm you at the counter, Amelie creates delicious cakes and tarts, and Gülistan, Safwen, and our head chef Nirit prepare our freshly made, Mediterranean-Levantine inspired dishes every day.
We focus on regional and seasonal ingredients. When selecting products and suppliers, we make conscious choices – most of them come from Chemnitz and the surrounding region. Our flour comes from Rolle Mühle in the Ore Mountains, our juices from Obstkelterei Heide in Siebenlehn, and our Berlin-made lemonade by Proviant is organic and all-natural. Our flavorful beer is brewed by the award-winning Schlossbrauerei Eichhofen, located in the Labertal valley near Regensburg. Fresh fruits and vegetables are delivered by Christian, a local gardener from the Chemnitz market. We get our herbs and spices from Al Arabi in the Sonnenberg district.
Our team members work under excellent conditions, are involved in decision-making, and receive fair pay. That’s why you won’t find anything cheap or overpriced here – what you’ll find is worthwhile.
See for yourself — we look forward to welcoming you in person at Café & Bistro JULIUS IM SCHOCKEN in Chemnitz!
Offerings
Our specialties
Cakes & Tortes
Enjoy our homemade cakes and tortes – freshly baked and made with love. Whether fruity, creamy, or chocolatey – there’s something for every taste.
Coffee & Tea
Enjoy premium coffee and a fine selection of teas. Whether it’s an espresso, cappuccino, or a soothing cup of tea – it’s the perfect break with a view of Chemnitz.
Dishes & Specials
Discover savory dishes, seasonal highlights, and special house specialties. Our food combines flavor and creativity with fresh ingredients – many of them also vegan.
History
How the café got its name
Fondest Memories: The Schocken
The early Sunday mornings in our little kitchen, with coffee and cigarettes, are among my fondest memories of my father.
We would philosophize, debate, and I was allowed to pester him with questions about his past—one that seemed more exciting than anything else, precisely because it felt so far away and hidden behind a wall that seemed impossible to cross. At the time, we lived in Munich. His birthplace was called Karl-Marx-Stadt back then.
Among the few stories I was able to coax out of my father—he rarely spoke willingly about his youth as a Jewish boy in the 1930s—was one about his walks to “the most beautiful and modern department store in Germany”, the Schocken department store, home to one of the city’s great attractions: an escalator.
At the checkout, purchases were carefully wrapped and handed to customers along with a quote from Goethe or Rilke. Decades later, my father could still recite them by heart.
The Schocken was just a few minutes’ walk from Antonplatz, where my grandfather Julius’s residential and commercial building once stood—between the Red Tower and Theaterplatz.
Grandfather Julius
Julius, who had fought for the Kaiser in World War I, was German through and through. In his household, it was completely natural to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas. The Christmas tree was topped with a Star of David — the “German folk festival” had become an integral part of assimilated Jewish life, as it was for many Jewish families of that time.
Julius couldn’t imagine that “those few brownshirts,” as he used to call them, could ever pose a real threat to him. Before he was murdered at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in March 1940 — his wife Margarete had already passed away in 1934 — he accompanied his only son Rolf, then 18 years old, to Palestine.
Until 1939, Julius repeatedly returned to Chemnitz, helping other relatives escape to safety, until his home at Antonplatz 15 was confiscated and converted into a “Jewish retirement home.” From there, many Jews from Chemnitz were later deported.
Grandfather Julius
Julius, who had fought for the Kaiser in World War I, was German through and through. In his household, it was completely natural to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas. The Christmas tree was topped with a Star of David — the “German folk festival” had become an integral part of assimilated Jewish life, as it was for many Jewish families of that time.
Julius couldn’t imagine that “those few brownshirts,” as he used to call them, could ever pose a real threat to him. Before he was murdered at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in March 1940 — his wife Margarete had already passed away in 1934 — he accompanied his only son Rolf, then 18 years old, to Palestine.
Until 1939, Julius repeatedly returned to Chemnitz, helping other relatives escape to safety, until his home at Antonplatz 15 was confiscated and converted into a “Jewish retirement home.” From there, many Jews from Chemnitz were later deported.
Café Julius im Schocken
Our museum café, located in the former Schocken department store — now the State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz, or smac — bears the name of my grandfather Julius.
It brings him back to the city where he once felt at home and truly belonged. In fact, his likeness stands in the middle of the room as a life-sized cardboard figure, usually next to the piano — and it’s not uncommon for guests to greet him or ask who the gentleman in the elegant suit might be.
Through this living remembrance, the values Julius passed on to my father — and that have shaped me as well — return with him: hospitality, openness and empathy, justice, kindness, responsibility — in short: humanism. And not to forget: good taste.
We look forward to welcoming you
to our café JULIUS IM SCHOCKEN!
Fresh to the table
We prepare our dishes fresh every day, using mostly seasonal and regional vegetables from the local market, along with fresh herbs and spices from our trusted Arabic grocer in the Sonnenberg district.
We love letting the day’s offerings inspire us – which means you’ll often find something new and surprising on our menu. That’s why our motto is: You get what’s available. But one thing’s for sure – it’s always delicious.
Feeling hungry? Then go ahead and reserve a table here – it can get quite busy at times!
Private Events & Catering
Want to celebrate at the smac? Planning a company event, conference, or meeting? We offer spaces for both small and large gatherings, complete with catering. You can also order cakes and tortes for your celebrations – from birthdays to weddings.
A loving tribute to Grandfather Julius – a quiet detail in the café
At Café Julius im Schocken, the chef is the boss herself – always cooking with heart
Cake and coffee – lovingly served on vintage porcelain
Café Julius im Schocken in the smac – welcoming and full of style
Events
Cultural events at the café
Like the museum, our cultural café is open until 8 PM on Thursdays.
That’s why (almost) every Thursday from 6 PM, we host a reading, concert, panel discussion, or something similar — always accompanied by tasty snacks and drinks.
Come by — there’s always something cultural happening here!
Events are usually held in German.