About Us

It begins with a perfumery in Vöcklabruck, which Johanna and Ewald Aschauer take over in 1981. Gmunden follows four years later, and in 1992 Linz opens, in an old tailor's shop — they bring its Art Nouveau portal home from a museum. What ends up on the shelves is just as rare in Austria: Diptyque and other brands, imported straight from France, at a time when the country isn't yet in the EU and every crate has to clear customs.

Johanna und Ewald Aschauer

Buying turns into travelling. Paris, Morocco, India: instead of ordering from sales reps, they go themselves and bring back what they like — fragrances and rugs, textiles, things without a catalogue number. The range grows beyond the perfumery, long before anyone thinks to call it a concept store.

Then, in 2000, Vienna: Duft und Kultur opens on Tuchlauben, one of the city's first niche perfumeries — and this time conceived that way from the start. Twenty years later the second generation joins, and with it comes the online store; in 2023 the Bazar follows in Leopoldstadt, in what was once an imperial court bakery. Today the four of them run the company together: Johanna and Ewald in Upper Austria, Matthias and Hanna in Vienna.

Five stores, each with its own range, shaped by where it stands. What has stayed is the way we buy: we take on what wins us over and leave out what's available everywhere. And whoever steps in is welcome to take their time — for a fragrance, a gift, or simply to browse.