Some places boast a unique history. The Ancien Cinéma in Vianden is one such example. Having closed its doors in the 1980s, the lights of this former cinema came back on in 2005, after Maciej Karczewski took on a renovation project that could be seen as slightly crazy. Let’s wind back the clock.
A Polish man in Vianden
The story of the current café began when Maciej Karczewski bought the property in 2005. “I fell in love with the place on my very first visit,” he explains. And yet the Polish native was by no means a connoisseur of cinema or coffee. “People in the village wondered whether he’d lost his mind, as the place was old and derelict,” reminisces Heng Schammel, who has managed the café since January.
As you’ll have gathered, the original cinema goes back quite a few years. In fact, it was set up in the backroom of an electrical store in the 1930s, with the last film screened in the mid-1980s. After that, only the bar area remained open until the early 2000s.
The interior has a distinctly vintage feel, since Maciej scoured about a hundred bric-a-brac shops for items to furnish the café. A few wood and velvet seats from the old-style cinema serve as a reminder of its past. Also on display are a number of treasures discovered in the cellar, like the cast-iron light fixtures fitted above the bar. “These were once dotted around the castle (editor’s note: Vianden Castle) to provide lighting, and the holes you can see are actually bullet holes” … It seems history has even found a niche at the bar.
A cultural venue in the broadest sense
From the outset, the café’s owner wanted to create a venue for all types of cultural events. “Our first event was part of the BicherFest book festival in 2007″. The venue now hosts nearly 80 events every year that cover the broadest cultural spectrum, from art exhibitions to readings, plays and jazz concerts.
Maciej was also keen to build bridges between East and West Europe. “We are a platform for artistic cooperation where East meets West, with around thirty dedicated events held every year,” he explains. As part of this work, the Ancien Cinéma helps organise the CinEast Festival which screens films in Vianden.
A café, bar and refuge
The Ancien Cinéma is also intended as a place for people to meet up over a coffee or a beer. “We get regulars in who are here every day from opening time, as well as tourists, obviously, and customers who come to see a film or exhibition and then stay for a drink,” says Heng.
Heng Schammel has been running the bar with great passion since January. Maciej gave the job to this loyal customer, lifelong Vianden resident and singer on the Ancien Cinéma stage in his spare time, so that he could focus more on the cultural side of things.
“In this place, we do our best to promote local products, which means we’re always going to offer tourists a glass of Simon instead of a Heineken!” Here, customers can buy teas and infusions by Téi Vum Séi, beers from the Simon brewery, pastries from the neighbouring bakery, and coffee roasted by Collette, a coffee shop that has recently opened in the same street. They can also order food made in the kitchen of the adjoining kebab restaurant. “We’ve worked together since the start!”
There are tonnes of games and books to keep kids occupied, and episodes of Tom and Jerry are shown afternoons on the big screen, so mums and dads can have a few moments’ peace and quiet to relax.
The Ancien Cinéma is one of those precious havens where it’s so nice to just hang out. And thanks to the two managers’ infectious passion for the place, it seems its story is not about to end any time soon.
