Basilio Calafati
Basilio Calafati ( Greek Βασίλειος Καλαφάτης, * January 1, 1800 in Trieste ; † May 27, 1878 in Vienna ) was a magician , showman and inn owner in the Wiener Wurstelprater . He was of Greek origin.
Live and act
From 1820 as "Salamucci" appeared in the Prater, in 1830 Calafati was employed as an assistant to Sebastian von Schwanenfeld, the "Magician of the Prater". On April 21, 1834 he bought the Praterhütte "Schießstätte, Spielhalle" from him.
On April 3, 1840, he received the license to run a game of ringlets with wooden horses. After the first steam-powered Northern Railway operated on the Vienna - Wagram route from January 6, 1838, he replaced the two horses with locomotives in 1844, which he named "Hellas" and "Peking". Then he had the upper floor of the ring game demolished, with the free-standing mast being decorated with the nine-meter-tall figure of an Asian bailiff. It carried the sign "Zum schwarzen Rössl", but was called "Großer Chineser" (see Calafati ).
Even after that, the enterprising Calafati tried to offer the Prater public new attractions. In addition to his carousel, he opened a restaurant in 1846 and later a billiard room. Numerous Prater artists performed in his establishments.
After his death, the legend of the Prater was consecrated in the Greek Orthodox parish church " Zur Hl. Dreifaltigkeit " and, as requested, buried in a black wedding suit in the St. Marx cemetery . The tombstone of the former grave still exists in the section of the Greek-non-honorary church of the cemetery. On October 27, 1905, he was exhumed together with his father Georg, his wife Josefa and his five children and transferred to the Vienna Central Cemetery in a metal coffin. His last resting place can be visited today in group 30C, row 6, grave 5.
In 1963, in Vienna- Leopoldstadt (2nd district) in the Wurstelprater, the Calafattiplatz (incorrectly spelled) was named after him. A larger than life bronze statue on a high pedestal dominates the newly designed Riesenradplatz on the Wurstelprater.
Calafati is always associated with the Vienna Prater. Mostly he is accepted as a fictional person, very few know him as an actual person.
Web links
- Entry on Basilio Calafati in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Calafati, Basilio |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Magician, carousel and inn owners |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 1, 1800 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Trieste , Italy |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 27, 1878 |
| Place of death | Vienna , Austria |