diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/frontend-application-module.ts b/packages/core/src/browser/frontend-application-module.ts
index aa0cbc50e3af6..4a3296369f00d 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/browser/frontend-application-module.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/frontend-application-module.ts
@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ import {
 import { QuickAccessContribution } from './quick-input/quick-access';
 import { QuickCommandService } from './quick-input/quick-command-service';
 import { SidebarBottomMenuWidget } from './shell/sidebar-bottom-menu-widget';
+import { WindowContribution } from './window-contribution';
 
 export { bindResourceProvider, bindMessageService, bindPreferenceService };
 
@@ -356,4 +357,8 @@ export const frontendApplicationModule = new ContainerModule((bind, unbind, isBo
     bind(CredentialsService).to(CredentialsServiceImpl);
 
     bind(ContributionFilterRegistry).to(ContributionFilterRegistryImpl).inSingletonScope();
+    bind(WindowContribution).toSelf().inSingletonScope();
+    for (const contribution of [CommandContribution, KeybindingContribution, MenuContribution]) {
+        bind(contribution).toService(WindowContribution);
+    }
 });
diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/window-contribution.ts b/packages/core/src/browser/window-contribution.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..29f377be9c478
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/window-contribution.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2021 Ericsson and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+import { inject, injectable } from 'inversify';
+import { Command, CommandContribution, CommandRegistry, environment } from '../common';
+import { WindowService } from './window/window-service';
+import { KeybindingContribution, KeybindingRegistry } from './keybinding';
+import { MenuContribution, MenuModelRegistry } from '../common/menu';
+import { CommonMenus } from '../browser/common-frontend-contribution';
+
+export namespace WindowCommands {
+
+    export const NEW_WINDOW: Command = {
+        id: 'workbench.action.newWindow',
+        label: 'New Window'
+    };
+}
+
+@injectable()
+export class WindowContribution implements CommandContribution, KeybindingContribution, MenuContribution {
+
+    @inject(WindowService)
+    protected windowService: WindowService;
+
+    registerCommands(commands: CommandRegistry): void {
+        commands.registerCommand(WindowCommands.NEW_WINDOW, {
+            execute: () => {
+                this.windowService.openNewDefaultWindow();
+            }
+        });
+    }
+
+    registerKeybindings(registry: KeybindingRegistry): void {
+        registry.registerKeybindings({
+            command: WindowCommands.NEW_WINDOW.id,
+            keybinding: this.isElectron() ? 'ctrlcmd+shift+n' : 'alt+shift+n'
+        });
+    }
+
+    registerMenus(registry: MenuModelRegistry): void {
+        registry.registerMenuAction(CommonMenus.FILE_NEW, {
+            commandId: WindowCommands.NEW_WINDOW.id,
+            order: 'c'
+        });
+    }
+
+    private isElectron(): boolean {
+        return environment.electron.is();
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/window/default-window-service.ts b/packages/core/src/browser/window/default-window-service.ts
index af33bcf16f367..1e9a4b029230e 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/browser/window/default-window-service.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/window/default-window-service.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import { CorePreferences } from '../core-preferences';
 import { ContributionProvider } from '../../common/contribution-provider';
 import { FrontendApplicationContribution, FrontendApplication } from '../frontend-application';
 import { WindowService } from './window-service';
+import { DEFAULT_WINDOW_HASH } from './window-service';
 
 @injectable()
 export class DefaultWindowService implements WindowService, FrontendApplicationContribution {
@@ -48,6 +49,10 @@ export class DefaultWindowService implements WindowService, FrontendApplicationC
         return undefined;
     }
 
+    openNewDefaultWindow(): void {
+        this.openNewWindow(DEFAULT_WINDOW_HASH);
+    }
+
     canUnload(): boolean {
         const confirmExit = this.corePreferences['application.confirmExit'];
         let preventUnload = confirmExit === 'always';
diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/window/test/mock-window-service.ts b/packages/core/src/browser/window/test/mock-window-service.ts
index a3cca33908fa3..94c0da87dbb61 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/browser/window/test/mock-window-service.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/window/test/mock-window-service.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import { WindowService } from '../window-service';
 @injectable()
 export class MockWindowService implements WindowService {
     openNewWindow(): undefined { return undefined; }
+    openNewDefaultWindow(): void { }
     canUnload(): boolean { return true; }
     get onUnload(): Event<void> { return Event.None; }
 }
diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/window/window-service.ts b/packages/core/src/browser/window/window-service.ts
index cec3b1e9a25f7..e06d903e7c67a 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/browser/window/window-service.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/window/window-service.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,12 @@ export interface NewWindowOptions {
  * Service for opening new browser windows.
  */
 export const WindowService = Symbol('WindowService');
+
+/**
+ *  The window hash value that is used to spawn a new default window.
+ */
+export const DEFAULT_WINDOW_HASH: string = '#!empty';
+
 export interface WindowService {
 
     /**
@@ -33,6 +39,12 @@ export interface WindowService {
      */
     openNewWindow(url: string, options?: NewWindowOptions): undefined;
 
+    /**
+     * Opens a new default window.
+     * - In electron and in the browser it will open the default window without a pre-defined content.
+     */
+    openNewDefaultWindow(): void;
+
     /**
      * Called when the `window` is about to `unload` its resources.
      * At this point, the `document` is still visible and the [`BeforeUnloadEvent`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window/beforeunload_event)
diff --git a/packages/core/src/electron-browser/window/electron-window-service.ts b/packages/core/src/electron-browser/window/electron-window-service.ts
index e290cadf8ddf9..3869913200acd 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/electron-browser/window/electron-window-service.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/electron-browser/window/electron-window-service.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,10 @@ export class ElectronWindowService extends DefaultWindowService {
         return undefined;
     }
 
+    openNewDefaultWindow(): void {
+        this.delegate.openNewDefaultWindow();
+    }
+
     @postConstruct()
     protected init(): void {
         // Update the default zoom level on startup when the preferences event is fired.
diff --git a/packages/core/src/electron-common/electron-main-window-service.ts b/packages/core/src/electron-common/electron-main-window-service.ts
index 2efc7f8f3ff3c..66aa1cd12ecc1 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/electron-common/electron-main-window-service.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/electron-common/electron-main-window-service.ts
@@ -20,4 +20,5 @@ export const electronMainWindowServicePath = '/services/electron-window';
 export const ElectronMainWindowService = Symbol('ElectronMainWindowService');
 export interface ElectronMainWindowService {
     openNewWindow(url: string, options?: NewWindowOptions): undefined;
+    openNewDefaultWindow(): void;
 }
diff --git a/packages/core/src/electron-main/electron-main-application.ts b/packages/core/src/electron-main/electron-main-application.ts
index 6d0da0cced7a5..c27efcc1053ec 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/electron-main/electron-main-application.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/electron-main/electron-main-application.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import { ContributionProvider } from '../common/contribution-provider';
 import { ElectronSecurityTokenService } from './electron-security-token-service';
 import { ElectronSecurityToken } from '../electron-common/electron-token';
 import Storage = require('electron-store');
+import { DEFAULT_WINDOW_HASH } from '../browser/window/window-service';
 const createYargs: (argv?: string[], cwd?: string) => Argv = require('yargs/yargs');
 
 /**
@@ -268,10 +269,9 @@ export class ElectronMainApplication {
         };
     }
 
-    protected async openDefaultWindow(): Promise<BrowserWindow> {
-        const options = await this.getLastWindowOptions();
-        const [uri, electronWindow] = await Promise.all([this.createWindowUri(), this.createWindow(options)]);
-        electronWindow.loadURL(uri.toString(true));
+    async openDefaultWindow(): Promise<BrowserWindow> {
+        const [uri, electronWindow] = await Promise.all([this.createWindowUri(), this.createWindow()]);
+        electronWindow.loadURL(uri.withFragment(DEFAULT_WINDOW_HASH).toString(true));
         return electronWindow;
     }
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/electron-main/electron-main-window-service-impl.ts b/packages/core/src/electron-main/electron-main-window-service-impl.ts
index 7b14b0148f046..b2dfa6f095d61 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/electron-main/electron-main-window-service-impl.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/electron-main/electron-main-window-service-impl.ts
@@ -37,4 +37,8 @@ export class ElectronMainWindowServiceImpl implements ElectronMainWindowService
         return undefined;
     }
 
+    openNewDefaultWindow(): void {
+        this.app.openDefaultWindow();
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/packages/workspace/src/browser/workspace-commands.ts b/packages/workspace/src/browser/workspace-commands.ts
index 9fb1c10d16410..7b65e498bdec1 100644
--- a/packages/workspace/src/browser/workspace-commands.ts
+++ b/packages/workspace/src/browser/workspace-commands.ts
@@ -147,10 +147,12 @@ export class FileMenuContribution implements MenuContribution {
 
     registerMenus(registry: MenuModelRegistry): void {
         registry.registerMenuAction(CommonMenus.FILE_NEW, {
-            commandId: WorkspaceCommands.NEW_FILE.id
+            commandId: WorkspaceCommands.NEW_FILE.id,
+            order: 'a'
         });
         registry.registerMenuAction(CommonMenus.FILE_NEW, {
-            commandId: WorkspaceCommands.NEW_FOLDER.id
+            commandId: WorkspaceCommands.NEW_FOLDER.id,
+            order: 'b'
         });
         const downloadUploadMenu = [...CommonMenus.FILE, '4_downloadupload'];
         registry.registerMenuAction(downloadUploadMenu, {
diff --git a/packages/workspace/src/browser/workspace-service.ts b/packages/workspace/src/browser/workspace-service.ts
index 1b80e5b66cc83..607a24c827157 100644
--- a/packages/workspace/src/browser/workspace-service.ts
+++ b/packages/workspace/src/browser/workspace-service.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 import { injectable, inject, postConstruct } from '@theia/core/shared/inversify';
 import URI from '@theia/core/lib/common/uri';
 import { WorkspaceServer, THEIA_EXT, VSCODE_EXT, getTemporaryWorkspaceFileUri } from '../common';
-import { WindowService } from '@theia/core/lib/browser/window/window-service';
+import { DEFAULT_WINDOW_HASH, WindowService } from '@theia/core/lib/browser/window/window-service';
 import {
     FrontendApplicationContribution, PreferenceServiceImpl, PreferenceScope, PreferenceSchemaProvider, LabelProvider
 } from '@theia/core/lib/browser';
@@ -128,6 +128,13 @@ export class WorkspaceService implements FrontendApplicationContribution {
     }
 
     protected async doGetDefaultWorkspaceUri(): Promise<string | undefined> {
+
+        // If an empty window is explicitly requested do not restore a previous workspace.
+        if (window.location.hash === DEFAULT_WINDOW_HASH) {
+            window.location.hash = '';
+            return undefined;
+        }
+
         // Prefer the workspace path specified as the URL fragment, if present.
         if (window.location.hash.length > 1) {
             // Remove the leading # and decode the URI.