.Blumie

gallery

At the January 1, 1800 Basilio Calafati was born in Triest (now Italy) as son of a carpet-merchant named Georg Calafati (1746-1837). From 1820 he appeared as "Salamucci" in the Prater, sold Emmentaler-cheese and Salami-sausage. Ten years later he got hired as assistant at a "Magician of the Prater", a magician originating from Bavaria named Sebastian von Schwanenfeld (1770-1845). On April 21, 1834 he bought from him the Praterhuette "Schiessstaette, Spielhalle" (gambling hall) for 1200 guilders. In the Kunstkabinett Hans Ringelmann, a taylor, worked as Bajazzo. After that Basilio Calafati bought from Katharina Martin a roundabout with wooden horses for 1300 guilders and applied to the Polizeioberdirektion (police dept.) for the concession to the run that caroussell, which was approved at the April 3, 1840. On the occasion of the first steam - pursued railroad on the Nordbahn (Vienna - Wagram) on January 6, 1838, he removed the the horses 1844 through 2 locomotives, which he named "Hellas" and "Peking". After that he removed the upper floor of the caroussell-house, whereby the vacant mast was trimmed with a big figure. The sign on this 9m high figure called "Zum schwarzen Roessl" (To the black horse) (since 1802), and was called "Grosser Chineser" (Big Chinese) and from 1854 to 1945 it was the sign of the Wurstelprater. Beside the carrousel Calafati opened 1846 a restaurant and expanded it 1867 with a porch. Besides it was hall for events with artistic presentations as well as a billiard-salon. Basilio Calafati died on May 27, 1878 in the house Prater No. 64. He was consecrated in the church Pfarrkirche "Zur Hl.Dreifaltigkeit" and as requested in his last will buried in the black wedding-suit on the St. Marxer cemetery. In the Greek section of that cemetery a commemorative stone still exists. On October 27, 1905 (with father Georg, wife Josefa and his five children) he was exhumed and conveyed in a metal box to the Viennese cementary Zentralfriedhof. This sculpture shows the "Big Chinese".