Forgotten Stone Hero by Marianne Thatcher

The Goethehof in the 22nd District is of historic importance for the city of Vienna. With the front, renovated, and the recent addition of a new underground garage: it hides its history as the centre of rebellion in the 1930s. Statues with benign expressions hover above the front buildings watching the daily goings on of people and vehicles, while protective large wrought iron gates suggest the possibility of needing to close them at some time. An ornate sun dial reveals the time for those who can still interpret it.

Formerly it was an independent community with a doctor, dentist, and kindergarten, daycare centre, gasthaus and more. It even housed a field hospital during WW2. An outer wall sports a plaque to Goethe, and where the milk vendor once ran his business is now a nail studio.

In an inner courtyard in front of the former kindergarten is an almost-managed garden, vines drape over shrubs, like out of season Christmas tinsel, while straggly weeds trip up the unwary who venture past the shrubbery along the path, into the less visible tangle of botanical significance.

If you push apart the vegetation you will find a statue of a young man. He plays a flute with the fingers of his extra-large hands covering invisible holes. With head tossed back and closed eyes he stands as though in meditation, face towards the sky with his feet leisurely crossed, calling the rats with his tune. Perhaps he still attracts the children, for we saw only a few when we visited, however I thought I saw a rat there, so maybe he’s still on the job.

One might wonder how the Pied Piper of Hamelin found his way to the Goethehof so far from his home town.