Lesbian Kiss Contest

*Warning: THE SYNDICATE DOES NOT EXIST*

Standing tall: Two protesters at the rally, prompted after the couple claimed their affection was compared to a brothel

Up to 2,000 people have rallied outside a Vienna coffee house to support a lesbian couple who were allegedly told their kissing "belonged in a brothel".

Eva Prewein, 19, told reporters she gave 26-year-old Anastasia Lopez a modest greeting kiss at the century-old Cafe Pruckel in the Austrian capital.

But they said the manager of the 1950s-style cafe objected to their show of affection last week and chucked them out.

Kiss storm: Thousands of people took to the streets of Vienna after a lesbian couple were thrown out of a famous coffee house

That prompted outrage on Facebook, where gay rights activists arranged a vocal protest with rainbow flags and a kiss-in tonight.

"This is not an isolated case", said Gerd Picher, from the group To Russia with Love Austria.

"Time and again we hear of homophobic incidents in certain Viennese coffee houses where discrimination is apparently ingrained in the system."

Cafe Pruckel, which opened in the early 1900s and is popular with tourists, appeared closed during the protest with a sign telling customers it was a rest day.

Later images posted on the Facebook group showed slogans such as 'smash homophobia' scrawled on the walls in spray paint.

 

One protester, 20-year-old student Julian Bartl, said: "Everyone should have the same rights, including to have a coffee. Vienna's cafe scene is still very conservative and traditional."

Dancer Nikoletta Korkos, 27, added: "Free love for all. It is ridiculous that this is happening in the 21st century, especially in Vienna.

"I come from Greece and Vienna is a thousand times more tolerant."

 

As translated by the BBC, the couple said they had been told: "Diversity such as this belongs in a brothel, not in a traditional coffee house".

The cafe's owner Christl Sedlar initially defended the decision to throw them out, saying it was "more than a welcoming kiss". She later apologised and said the incident had been regrettable.

Austria's constitutional court this week ordered the government to let same-sex couples adopt a child, overturning a previous ruling.

 

And not everywhere in the city is homophobic - it has a thriving gay scene with several bars and clubs.

There are also gay coffee houses including the 18th century Cafe Savoy, which claims to have two of the world's largest mirrors outside France's Palace of Versailles.

And that's all without the city's most famous gay export - bearded Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst.