SALZBURG, Austria (AP) 鈥� More than 200 gold statuettes of Austria’s most famous composer disappeared from his hometown of Salzburg, officials said Wednesday, leaving a tribute to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on his 270th birthday considerably less crowded.
The Mozarteum Foundation on July 15 unveiled 320 statuettes, barely 50 centimeters (less than 20 inches) high, showing Mozart with his dog. They were designed by German conceptual artist Ottmar H枚rl.
Within two weeks, more than 80 of the polymer figures had disappeared. By Wednesday, a total of 210 were missing.
鈥淭he worst thing for an artist is when his work dissolves,鈥� H枚rl told the German news agency dpa. He said he did not believe visitors stole the works but rather that it was an 鈥渙rganized theft.鈥�
H枚rl intended to sell the statues for about 100 euros ($114) once the exhibition was over, meaning whoever ran away with 210 mini-Mozarts has not become an overnight millionaire.
The mini-Mozarts populated not only the garden of the composer’s former house, but also his living quarters as well as several pavilions.
While the organizers put aside some spare statuettes in case of theft, there were too few to compensate for the actual losses. And in a further stroke of bad luck, the manufacturer of the statues was away on holidays, so there was no quick fix.
The exhibition of statuettes, now more widely spaced, is scheduled to remain on display until Aug. 30.
For H枚rl, who is known from his sculptures made from polymer, the theft of his artworks is nothing new. At an installation in Bayreuth, Germany, a complete array of statues of was stolen within 10 days.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 just the nature of public space. That means when you work as an artist in a public space, you mustn鈥檛 complain about what is happening there,鈥� H枚rl said. 鈥淚t ranges from destruction to theft. That鈥檚 just how it is.鈥�
Mozart was born on Jan. 27, 1756, in Salzburg, where the Mozarteum Foundation offers concerts, maintains Mozart museums and supports research on him.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 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,鈥� H枚rl told The Associated Press.
To give the statues a human touch, H枚rl 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.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
