This sculpture is just inside the entrance to the Prater Amusement park in Vienna. The life-sized bronze work depicts Calafati in his showman's costume with huge sleeves. He stands outstretched and holding a baton in his right hand.
Wikipedia (
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"Basilio Calafati ...January 1 1800 in Trieste , † May 27 1878 in Vienna ) was a magician , showman and guest house owners in the Vienna Prater . He was of Greek origin
Life and work
The memorial stone Calafati at St. Marx cemetery in Vienna
In 1820, known as "Salamucci" in the Prater, Calafati 1830 received an appointment as assistant to Sebastian Schwan field, the "Wizards of Prater". On 21 April 1834 he acquired from him the Prater hut "shooting range, game room".
On 3 April 1840 he was awarded the concession for the operation of a marigold game with wooden horses. After from 6 In January 1838 the first steam train of the Northern Railway on the route Vienna - wrong Wagram, in 1844 he replaced the two horses by locomotives, which he named "Hellas" and "Beijing". Then he removed the top floor of the Ringel game, where the free-standing mast was decorated with the nine-foot tall figure of an Asian bailiff. She wore the label "The Black Horse Inn", but was called the "Great Chinese" (see Calafati ).
Even after the enterprising Calafati was striving to offer the public the Prater new attractions. In addition to its carousel, he opened a restaurant in 1846 and later a pool hall. Numerous Prater Artist occurred in its establishment.
After his death, the legend Prater was in the Greek Orthodox parish church " the Holy Trinity "and consecrated as desired in black wedding suit at the St. Marx Cemetery buried. In the Greco-non-Uniates church of the cemetery department today, but there is the grave stone of the former grave. On 27 October 1905 he was exhumed along with Father George, Mrs. Josefa and his five children and in a metal coffin on the Vienna Central Cemetery transferred. His last resting place can now be visited in the 5 group 30C, row 6, grave.
In 1963, in Vienna Leopoldstadt (2nd district) in the Prater Calafattiplatz named (in the wrong spelling) after him. A larger than life-size bronze statue on a high pedestal dominates the redesigned Riesenradplatz on the Prater.
Calafati is always associated with the Vienna Prater. Usually he is but assumed to be a fictitious person, few know him as an actual person."