The Manner Schnitten snack wafers are as much part of Vienna and Austria as the schnitzel or sausage stall.
- Hazelnut wafers still made locally
- Created in 1898
- Iconic pink packaging and logo
- A simple (and inexpensive) gift to take back home
- Manner are a major snack, biscuit and baking brand
- Book a food or drink experience* in Vienna
- See also:
Taste and tradition
(The famous Schnitten)
The founder of the Manner company — Josef Manner — began business life with a chocolate and coffee store (very Viennese!) in the shadow of Stephansdom cathedral around 1890.
Manner soon expanded into other (and bigger) things. Most importantly, the company created the Schnitten in 1898.
Our snack pioneer put hazelnut cream between layers of wafer to produce a chocolatey delight still hugely popular here in the city over 125 years later. For example, it’s a requested mainstay of the food parcels I send to family when they live abroad.
According to the company’s website, the hazelnuts used in the original came from the Naples area, which led to the designation for the Schnitten as Neapolitaner. It’s a moniker still found on the packet.
The cathedral logo on the trademark pink packaging also pays tribute to the product’s historical origins and the company’s association with Austria’s capital.
The manufacturers still retain their Viennese roots, with the headquarters and a factory in Vienna’s 17th district (Hernals).
You can catch the chocolate smell as you walk past, if the wind is right, and spot evidence of its historical roots in, for example, this side entrance:
(Industrial architecture of the past had a certain style to it)
Another stalwart of traditional Viennese business lies not far away, either: the Ottakringer brewery in the neighbouring 16th district, founded in 1837.
You might spot the Manner old timer tram or horse-drawn carriage around the city, too, all dressed in pink and displaying the logo.
If you fancy giving Mr. Manner’s wafers a try, every supermarket should stock the Schnitten. If they don’t, something has gone very wrong with society.
(Stephansplatz, around 1893, and home to the first Manner business; printed by Max Jaffé and photographed by Carl von Zamboni; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 94682; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)
The Manner flagship store on Stephansplatz also has their products (of course), many in gift-friendly packaging.
P.S. You may recall seeing the wafers in a less likely place than a Vienna cafe or supermarket. Arnold Schwarzenegger is rumored to be a fan and a cyborg Arnie can be seen buying a packet in the film, Terminator 3.