Picture this: It’s the early 1900s. The world is swirling with new inventions and fashionable moustaches, and in Hungary, a boy named Ferenc Mere is spending his childhood at a pond, surrounded by hundreds of frogs. While most kids might chase frogs or skip stones, Ferenc decided to taxidermy them. Yes, really! In an era where stuffing animals was as popular as Instagram filters are today, Ferenc took it one leap further. From 1910 to 1920, he spent his days catching, stuffing, and arranging nearly a thousand frogs into little scenes that copy our own lives.
Inside, you’ll see frogs in tiny classrooms, frogs at the poker table, even acrobatic frogs performing at the circus-each one frozen mid-leap, as if they’re about to ribbit out a punchline. Out of all those frogs, 507 survive today, carefully kept behind glass in 21 detailed dioramas. It’s like walking into a cartoon that’s jumped off the page… or possibly hopped off.
But here’s a twist! After Ferenc passed away, his frog collection ended up forgotten in an attic in Serbia. It wasn’t until 1970 that the parents of today’s owner, Ivan Medvešek, discovered this quirky treasure and brought it to Split, creating a museum like no other. Ivan now cares for the frogs-imagine a spa day every five years with formaldehyde, ammonia, and a fresh coat of varnish! It’s preservation at its most, shall we say, “toad-ally” creative.
There’s a touch of debate too, with some folks feeling uneasy about the use of real frogs. But one thing’s for sure: wherever you stand, Froggyland is unforgettable. So ribbit or not, don’t miss the leap inside!
