Froggyland

Private museum in the centre of Split with 21 dioramas in which stuffed frogs are shown in scenes from everyday human life.

Opening hours unknown

Directions

About the museum

Froggyland is a private museum in the centre of Split, not far from Diocletian’s Palace (Dioklecijanova palača), dedicated to the collection of the Hungarian taxidermist Ferenc Mere. Mere was born in 1878 into a Hungarian family and grew up beside a frog pond. Between 1910 and 1920 he caught and preserved edible frogs and arranged them in scenes from human life, such as playing poker, a school lesson or a circus performance. He originally collected more than a thousand frogs, and 507 have survived to this day.

The collection was bought in 1970 by the family of the present owner and moved to Split, where the museum was established. The exhibition is divided into 21 thematically arranged scenes, and the specimens are conserved and re-varnished every few years. Because of its unusual subject and method of production, the collection counts among Split’s curiosities, while also prompting debate about the ethics of taxidermy.

Highlights

21 dioramas with scenes from everyday life, performed by frogs
507 surviving specimens from Ferenc Mere’s work made between 1910 and 1920
Scenes such as a school lesson, poker and a circus
Location in the centre of Split, near Diocletian’s Palace