Spain’s oldest surviving café, founded in 1905 on the Plaza Mayor de Salamanca, where writers, artists and intellectuals gathered to shape Spanish culture.
At a glance
Café Novelty occupies a corner of Salamanca’s main square, where it has operated continuously for over a century. Once four times its present size, it remains a working café and cultural landmark in one of Spain’s most storied university cities.
History
The García brothers founded Café Novelty in 1905, capitalizing on its prime location in the Plaza Mayor. From the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War until 1964, it operated under the name Café Nacional. The café’s cultural significance grew swiftly; by the mid-twentieth century, it had become the intellectual heart of Salamanca. In 1923, the founder of Football Club of Salamanca made his decision at one of its tables. Between 1936 and 1937, Spanish National Radio was also established here. Since 1999, the café has published a magazine, “Los papeles del Novelty,” documenting its history and role in the city’s cultural life.
What you see
The surviving café occupies a reduced footprint of its original size, a quarter of its former scale. Its positioning on the Plaza Mayor—one of Spain’s grandest civic squares—gives it an enduring prominence in Salamanca’s urban fabric.
Cultural significance
Café Novelty functioned as an informal salon for Spain’s leading twentieth-century intellectuals. Miguel de Unamuno, the philosopher and literary organizer, was a regular, as were Ortega y Gasset, Juan Benet, Pedro Laín Entralgo, Francisco Umbral, Carmen Martín Gaite, Gonzalo Torrente Ballester and Víctor García de la Concha. These gatherings—tertulias—shaped Spanish thought and letters during a transformative century. The café witnessed the founding of major cultural and sporting institutions, anchoring it firmly in the nation’s memory.
Key facts
- Country: Spain
- City: Salamanca
- Founded: 1905
- Coordinates: 40.96534167, -5.66363611
- Original owners: The García brothers
Practical information & getting there
The café remains open to the public on the Plaza Mayor de Salamanca. Visitors can experience the space where generations of Spanish intellectuals debated philosophy, literature and politics.
Sources & resources
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