Ah yes, another stop in Austria on my wish list. I actually had a previous post about Salzburg. Now I bring you the Zwerglgarten in Mirabell Gardens.

In 1715, Prince Archbishop Franz Anton Harrach had a number of statues modeled after the dwarves who lived in the court and served as entertainers.

Sometime later, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (as a gesture of “protection” for his wife and child), had all the the statues removed if they were hunchbacked or besmirched with goiters. Though ordered to be destroyed, the stone dwarves were auctioned off and subsequently forgotten for at least 100 years.

In 1921, the Salzburg Society for the Preservation of Local Amenities recalled this part of Salzburg’s cultural heritage and convinced city councilors to place the nine dwarves (then under the city’s possession) in their original historical place.

I really like the idea that somewhere in the world I can visit tiny, tarnished hunchbacked statues with boils and growths…and describe them as historical landmarks.

See more in this flickr set.

Found on the wonderful Curious Expeditions.