A horde of golden mini-Mozarts marks 270 years since the composer's
birth in Salzburg
[July 16, 2026]
By PHILIPP JENNE
SALZBURG, Austria (AP) — Visitors to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's hometown
can see the composer — and his dog — in miniature as Salzburg celebrates
the 270th anniversary of his birth. But they shouldn't wait too long.
The Mozarteum Foundation on Wednesday unveiled 300 gold-colored
statuettes of Mozart, which are barely 50 centimeters (less than 20
inches) tall. They were designed by German concept artist Ottmar Hörl.
Mozart was born on Jan. 27, 1756, in the Austrian city, where the
Mozarteum Foundation offers concerts, maintains Mozart museums and
supports research on him.
“I didn’t want to do a monument of Mozart. There are already enough of
these. But I wanted to show his human side, that he was a normal human
being despite his genius,” Hörl told The Associated Press.
To give the statues a human touch, Hörl depicted the composer with his
favorite dog, Pimperl. Mozart and his family were known to take long
walks with their dogs in the Mirabell Garden, next to where they lived.
The mini-Mozarts populate not only the garden, but also Mozart’s former
living quarters as well as several pavilions. In all, 400 statues were
made, but only 300 are on display at present. The rest are being kept in
reserve in case of theft.
"Two already got stolen within the last few hours,” Linus Klumpner of
the Mozarteum Foundation said. But the statues are meant to attract a
broader range of visitors and get them hooked on Mozart’s Music.
“You come here, maybe you see the small golden heads shimmering in the
sun on the horizon. And people become curious," Klumpner said. "And then
a process begins which is very much in our interest. That is to bring
new people in contact with Mozart."
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People pass 400 gold colored plastic Mozart sculptures by German
artist Ottmar Hoerl from Nuremberg before the 270th birthday of
composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Salzburg, Austria, Wednesday,
July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
For Hörl, the theft of his artworks in nothing new. At an installation
in Bayreuth, Germany, a complete array of statues of Richard Wagner was
stolen within 10 days.
“That’s just the nature of public space. That means when you work as an
artist in a public space you mustn’t complain about what is happening
there," Hörl said. "It ranges from destruction to theft. That’s just how
it is.”
The Mozart statues are scheduled to remain on display until Aug. 30.
People who would like to own one but would prefer not to steal it can
purchase one for 100 euros ($114) – while supplies last.
Hörl is known for his sculptures made from polymer. In 2010 he displayed
10,000 plastic owls in Athens. A “Homage to Dürer” showcased oversized
plastic copies of Albrecht Dürer’s hare at the Daegu art museum in South
Korea.
In 2009, German prosecutors decided against investigating Hörl over a
series of golden garden gnomes doing the Hitler salute, under a law that
forbids using insignia forbidden by the German constitution. Hörl
himself intended the gnomes as satire against the Nazis' ideology.
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