Calafati (figure)
The Calafati (also Calafatti, Kalafatti) is next to the Ferris wheel and the Watschenmann one of the landmarks of the Wurstelprater in Vienna .
The calafati is a nine-meter-high figure of a Chinese man , also known as the "Great Chinese". Originally, it has been decorating a free-standing mast of the building since a renovation carried out in 1854 of Basilio Calafati's ring game pulled by a small steam locomotive (hence the name). Until 1945 the owners changed several times, and a planned demolition could be prevented by the monument office in 1922.
In 1932 the Ringelspiel and the "Great Chinese" were restored. For this, 80 m of brocade material and 17 kg of horsehair were used for the 11 m long braid . In 1935 the Ringelspiel was placed under monument protection. On April 8, 1945, the Calafati was completely destroyed during the Battle of Vienna .
On August 14, 1967, Ilse Pompe-Niederführ created a replica of the "Great Chinese" made of artificial stone , on which a plaque was unveiled in May 1968.
In 1978 the song "Calafati" by Peter Cornelius appeared on the single , in which he compares himself with the Chinese figure. ( "Like Calafati on the Prater Ringelspü 'I do and I don't know how to do it." - Like Calafati on the Prater carousel, I stand there and I don't know what happens to me. )
Two companies have used the name Basilio Calafatis: Calafatti Marketing- und Betriebs Nfg GmbH & Co KG - was the largest tenant in the Prater, operated a "flight simulator" for 4 years until the beginning of 2013, bankruptcy opened in June 2013. Basileo GmbH - filed for bankruptcy in July 2013 .
literature
- Calafati (figure) in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Calafatti & Fortuna , Wiener Bezirkszeitung, Wien-16 Ottakring, undated , accessed on August 26, 2013
- ↑ Soaring claims , Wiener Zeitung of July 22, 2013, accessed on August 26, 2013
- ↑ Calafatti bankruptcy in Vienna quakes as far as East Tyrol. Kleine Zeitung , July 20, 2013, archived from the original on November 5, 2013 .