Salzburg dwarf garden

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The Zwergelgarten is part of the Mirabell Gardens and was in Salzburg originally Pigatlgarten , later often also pagoda garden . As far as is known, it is the oldest dwarf garden in Europe. The dwarfs were created after 1690 - like essentially the entire Mirabell Gardens according to plans by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach .

The Mirabell Gardens Fischer von Erlachs

The young, ambitious Graz architect Fischer von Erlach was brought to Salzburg by Prince Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun und Hohenstein . The first work here was the new construction of the Mirabell Gardens in 1689. This park was a space for relaxation and reflection, but also a place for theater and opera, concerts and fireworks. Based on French court gardens, Salzburg now received a splendid baroque garden with a variety of depictions ranging from the sublime to the grotesque. Fischer von Erlach was a student of Gian Gian Lorenzo Bernini , who also made a name for himself as a caricaturist. He is also named by well-known architects as a co-founder of the caricature. Between 1690 and 1692 sculptures were probably carried out by Bernhard Michael Mandl , Bartholomäus van Opstal , Andreas Götzinger and Ottavio Mosto together with other artists, including Sebastian Stumpfegger and Hans Schwäbl.

center right: the old dwarf garden - the little red squares are the dwarf locations

The first evidence of the existence of a dwarf garden in Salzburg is only available in the years after 1710. From this time there is no evidence of a garden redesign. Numerous indications suggest that it came about as part of Fischer von Erlach's overall concept shortly after 1690.

  • The 28 marble figures of gods and heroes (not including the 8 small tritons that were later removed) in the Mirabell Gardens stand opposite 28 dwarfs in the dwarf garden.
  • The dwarfs form the counterpart to the ancient gods of the Mirabell Gardens and also to the giant Antaios , whom Hercules defeats.
  • The dwarfs were able to continue the play of the comedians of the hedge theater directly south.
  • The figures show that size and smallness are relative: after the dwarfs stood on pedestals one meter high, visitors had to look up to the heads of the small baroque figures. The smallness of the figures was then emphasized when looking at them from the high bastion walls, which once looked even higher than in the current state with the large 1.5 m defensive wall base.
  • According to popular belief, the garden gnomes could symbolically keep all evil away.
  • In the serene garden of Archbishop Johann Ernst Graf Thun, the memory of the transience of all things could not be missing. This should become clear in the allegorical representations of the individual months.
  • The simple form of the April dwarf marble vase is taken from the abundance of shapes in the vases and vase designs by Fischer von Erlach.

Dwarfs in Myth and History

Myths of dwarfs go deep into prehistory. Even in ancient times, rulers liked to entertain themselves with short or malformed people. During the Renaissance, they were frequently employed at royal courts again. The court dwarf of Emperor Charles IV , Jakob Ries, was particularly valued . In Salzburg, the court dwarf Josef Friedrich von Meichelböck (1687–1746) was respected and popular during the reigns of Johann Ernst von Thun , Franz Anton von Harrach , Leopold Anton von Firmian and Jakob Ernst von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn .

The baroque dwarf caricatures

As a result, the caricatures of Jacques Callot , the court painter to Cosimo II at the court of Florence, became widely known and famous . Callot saw several performances of the dwarf comedians troupe at court from 1612 to 1621. The artist shows musicians, beggars and drinkers with humps or big bellies. Figures from the impromptu theater Commedia dell'arte are also taken up. The creator of the “varie figure gobbi”, as he called his 24 dwarf figures, was inspired by countless festivals at which tournaments and plays were presented by the small stature. Callot's cartoons were an incredible success across Europe.

Dwarf garden and bastion garden

The part of the garden south of the water bastion has been known as the Pigatlgarten or dwarf garden since the baroque period, also because the Salzburg dwarfs are currently set up on this bastion. The dwarf garden had a large fountain in the middle, which was surrounded by four small round fountains, once called "water pieces". The water basins were surrounded by twelve "garden pieces" in rich ornamental form, which were framed by a 60 to 70 cm high box hedge.

The depiction of Turkish dwarf caricatures in the dwarf garden is very understandable. The design of the Mirabell Gardens under Johann Ernst Graf Thun followed a few years after the last Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683. At that time, 800 Salzburg soldiers fought in the reserve army. Since the years after 1470, d. H. For over 200 years the Turks had represented a more or less constant threat to the archbishopric. Archbishop Johann Ernst Graf Thun now dared to transform military installations in the vicinity of the Mirabell Gardens into gardens, and the hornworks in front of the bastions north of the Mirabell Gardens and the fortifications in the east of the Kapuzinerberg were also abandoned.

The individual dwarfs

"The four special dwarfs"

  • the Turkish gnome with the turban who tries in vain to break off a thick branch.
  • the second Turkish gnome is missing
  • the Pallone dwarf with the ball at the entrance to the dwarf garden
  • the Pallone dwarf with the spiked sleeve at the entrance to the dwarf garden

The game Pallone , in which the enemy field was hit with a wooden flapping sleeve rather than with a bat, was popular with aristocratic youth not only in northern Italy, but also in Salzburg.

the twelve monthly dwarfs:

  • The dwarf with the chicken (January). The chicken represents the busy work at the beginning of the new year.
  • Dwarf missing (February). The dwarf with the cut out bodice is located in Traunstein and represents a carnival dancer.
  • The dwarf with the spade (March). This month often the beginning of the gardening falls, whereby the soil has to be cut and prepared first.
  • The dwarf with the garden vase (April). In April, the potted plants that have been wintered, previously mainly the 500 or so citrus trees, are put outside again.
  • The dwarf with the radish pouch (May). In May, white beer radish was often harvested as the first fruit in the garden.
  • The dwarf with the grave stone (June), also known as the dreaming gardener. He rests from work, leaning on his garden hoe.
  • The dwarf with the scythe (July). With the (missing) scythe and the whetstone, it symbolizes July, when the first cut of the meadows was made in earlier times. July used to be called "Heumond".
  • The dwarf with the onion bunch (August). The friendly-looking dwarf offers water from a jug and, as a health symbol and medicinal plant, a bunch of onions.
  • The dwarf with the apron stands for September, when the fruit harvest also begins.
  • Dwarf missing (October). The alleged “hunter dwarf” is missing.
  • Dwarf missing (November). The dwarf with the (martini) goose is in Traunstein.
  • The dwarf with the cam pot (December). December, the month without gardening, was a time of calm, when delicious cams were also eaten with pleasure.

the twelve theater gnomes from the Commedia dell'arte environment , nine of which have been preserved

  • The dwarf with dagger and rapier is missing on site, it is located at the entrance to the garden at Reichenhaller Strasse 16. (listed building ID: 35679 ). He makes reference to templates by Callot and to duel scenes played by dwarf actors.
  • The dwarf with the straw pocket hat with his grotesque headgear also belongs to the dueling dwarfs.
  • The dwarf with the wooden leg. Is also a Callot figure. Despite his handicap, the dwarf stays early and symbolically distributes fruit from his fruit basket.
  • The dwarf with the sword is missing, this dueling dwarf is also at the entrance to the house garden at Reichenhallerstraße 16 (listed building ID: 35679 ).
  • The dwarf with the castanets is on loan. The dancing dwarf is also one of the typical characters of Callot.
  • The dwarf with the butte shows the good servant with the headgear typical of that time. Its devious "counterpart" is in Traunstein.
  • The dwarf with the canteen is missing. The Brighella dwarf, the counterpart to the good servant, is located in Traunstein.
  • The dwarf with the spoon cap is also missing. This "dottore" with his typical goatee and belt pouch is located in Traunstein.
  • The dwarf with the pince-nez. The Tartaglia dwarf probably provided amusement with stuttering twisted words. He could stutterly indicate truths without being censored.

The dwarf gardens in Europe

Starting from the Salzburg Mirabell Gardens, such grotesque dwarfs were soon erected in countless palace and monastery gardens. First, Fischer von Erlach designed a dwarf complex in Weidling near Vienna in 1709 and a dwarf balustrade at Weikersdorf Castle in Lower Austria in 1711 . The Pfannberg Castle near Frohnleiten in Styria probably received its dwarf garden (now lost). This was followed by the dwarfs in front of the racetrack of Bad Kuskus Castle in Bohemia and in 1715 the Lambach garden gnomes and those of Dornau Castle near Pettau in what was then southern Styria . Further dwarf gardens were not only established in Salzburg, Austria, Bavaria and Bohemia, but also in Romania, Poland, in northern parts of Germany and, last but not least, in numerous green spaces in northern Italy around the Venice, Padua and Florence area. In the further development of the "Callot figures" the adhesions of the dwarfs became less and less. In 1720 a porcelain factory began to manufacture simple dwarf figures in Meissen , 1744 in Vienna and soon also in England. Around 1800 the first garden gnomes with standing pointed hats emerged. (Even the dwarf with the castanets in Salzburg has a hanging pointed cap.) After the bourgeoisie increasingly took up the dwarves, they lost more and more importance in the aristocracy. Around 1900 the first, often very kitschy, large-scale series were made out of clay, later out of plastic: the “today's” garden gnomes .

The dwarf garden in history

The baroque design of the dwarf garden was destroyed before 1800 because the baroque style, which was largely influenced by the French aristocracy, was considered out of date and had to give way to an English landscape garden. The garden's gnomes were removed in 1811. During the Enlightenment, the figures of misshapen people in the Mirabell Gardens fell into disrepute and were auctioned for very small amounts in 1811. The Salzburg dwarfs were scattered to the winds. The dwarfs were now forgotten for almost a hundred years. On October 20, 1919, the Salzburg municipal council decided to rebuild the unique garden. Previously, the Salzburg Beautification Association, today's Salzburg City Association, had endeavored to bring this important piece of Salzburg's cultural history back to life. Due to damage from playing children, the dwarfs were temporarily moved to the Wasserbastei d. H. placed on the small bastion garden, where they still stand today.

The rebuilding of the dwarf garden as part of Fischer von Erlach's total work of art

As early as 1919, the City Council of Salzburg decided to re-erect the figures of the dwarf garden in the original dwarf garden and to rebuild the historical and unique dwarf garden according to the numerous old models. After the dwarfs that had been set up were repeatedly endangered because of a children's playground at the same location, the dwarfs temporarily moved to the bastion garden, where they are still standing today. In 2018 the dwarf garden on the water bastion was redesigned. Any closer references to the original baroque design of the bastion garden can hardly be seen. This list of dwarfs is also largely in the shade of the surrounding old chestnut trees. The installation at this location is not ideal in terms of monument preservation. Shading and the entry of organic material promote the growth of bacteria, algae and, as a result, mosses on the sculptures. The marble sculptures with their rough surface become unsightly and weather faster. Damage to the sculptures by branches cannot be ruled out, for example during storms. The current dwarf exhibition in the Bastion Garden is neither handicapped accessible nor barrier-free. A list of the dwarf duels as pairs of guardians - and as counterparts to the Borghesi fencers at the exit from the Mirabell Gardens to the south - makes little sense at the current location because there is no outside access to the Mirabell Gardens at the water bastion.

It is still an important goal to rebuild the original dwarf garden at its original location and to revive the oldest dwarf garden in Europe as an irreplaceable part of the Mirabellgarten complete work of art created by Fischer von Erlach in a dignified form and as true to the original as possible. The lowering of the garden part by a good one meter should also be considered.

Since the recovery of the six dwarfs placed outside the dwarf garden has proven to be extremely difficult for the most part over the past 30 years, the rapid installation of these dwarfs as a cast makes sense. The bases for the sculptures should be more than one meter high according to the original installation. A short explanation of the sculptures (German and English) on small boards is available at the respective location or at the entrance to the garden.

  • Dwarf installation in the bastion garden before the dwarf restoration in May 2018

  • Turkish gnome with turban

  • Pallonian dwarf with the spiked sleeve

  • Pallone dwarf with the ball

  • Dwarf with the Chicken (January)

  • Dwarf with a spade (March)

  • Dwarf with the garden vase (April)

  • Dwarf with the radish pouch (May)

  • Dwarf with the graveyard (June)

  • Dwarf with the onion bunch (August)

  • Dwarf with the apron (September)

  • Dwarf with the cam pot (December)

  • Dwarf with the wooden leg

  • Dwarf with a pince-nez

  • fighting dwarf with a straw pocket hat

  • Dwarf with a straw pocket hat

Web links

Commons : Zwergelgarten  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

  • Günther Bauer: Salzburg Baroque Dwarfs. Verlag Galerie Welz, Salzburg 1989.
  • Reinhard Medicus: The dwarf garden and its history. In: Bastei. Magazine of the Salzburg City Association , Volume 2, Salzburg 2010.
  • Salzburg dwarfs. In: Series of publications by the Salzburg City Association, Kulturgut der Heimat. Issue No. 4, 1972, text by Erwin Gimmelsberger, pictures by Alois Schmiedbauer.
  • City of Salzburg: Newly set up, well displayed: The dwarf garden at Mirabell Palace. An information brochure from the City of Salzburg on the re-erection of the dwarfs from May 2018 with a graphic of the dwarf garden and with texts on the individual dwarfs by Reinhard Medicus.

documentary

  • Mirabell's dwarf garden. Quirky stone masterpieces. Documentary (45 min.), A 2014, written and directed by Christian Hager.

Coordinates: 47 ° 48 ′ 18.5 ″  N , 13 ° 2 ′ 24.9 ″  E