Froggyland and the Strange Art of Posed Frogs

Introduction

Froggyland in Split is one of Croatia’s most distinctive curiosity attractions: a collection of 507 taxidermied frogs arranged in 21 miniature scenes that mimic human life. Visitors encounter frogs attending school, playing cards, performing in a circus, working as blacksmiths or musicians, and taking part in everyday activities from the early twentieth century. At first glance the displays appear humorous and surreal, but they also raise modern questions about the ethics of displaying animals for entertainment. The museum therefore occupies an unusual place in Croatia’s landscape of strange collections. It is both a surviving example of a largely forgotten style of European taxidermy and a reminder that attitudes towards animals have changed considerably over the past century.[Wikipedia]WikipediaOpen source on wikipedia.org.

How the frog scenes were made

The collection is attributed to Hungarian taxidermist Ferenc Mere (1878–1947), who is believed to have created the displays between about 1910 and 1920. According to the museum’s account, Mere originally produced more than 1,000 posed frogs, although only 507 survive today. After passing through several owners and being rediscovered decades later in what is now Serbia, the surviving dioramas eventually found a permanent home in Split.[Wikipedia]WikipediaOpen source on wikipedia.org.

What makes the collection remarkable is not simply the number of specimens but the craftsmanship involved. Frogs are far more difficult to preserve than many mammals or birds because of their delicate skin. Accounts of Mere’s technique describe the animals being emptied through the mouth rather than cut open across the body, allowing the skin to remain outwardly intact before being carefully filled and posed. Tiny handmade props complete each scene, creating convincing miniature theatres rather than simple rows of preserved specimens.[Atlas Obscura]atlasobscura.comAtlas Obscura Froggyland in SplitAtlas ObscuraFroggyland in SplitOctober 8, 2015…Published: October 8, 2015

The scenes depict ordinary social life rather than fantasy. Classrooms, weddings, sporting events, workshops, orchestras and cafés all appear, often with humorous details such as misbehaving pupils or card players cheating one another. Although the frogs are the obvious attraction, the displays also preserve a miniature portrait of Central European everyday life as imagined in the early twentieth century.[Split Curated]splitcurated.comSplit Curated FroggylandSplit CuratedFroggyland - Split Curated…

Anthropomorphic taxidermy as popular spectacle

Today Froggyland feels unique, but it belongs to a broader historical tradition. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, anthropomorphic taxidermy—posing preserved animals as though they were people—was a fashionable form of entertainment across parts of Europe and North America. These displays combined technical skill, humour and theatrical storytelling at a time when taxidermy itself was widely admired as both science and craft.[OUP Academic]academic.oup.comOUP AcademicCarl Akeley’s ‘lost’ decorative taxidermy and anthropomorphic groups | Journal of the History of Collections | Oxford Academi…

The best-known British practitioner was Walter Potter, whose rabbits, kittens and frogs were similarly arranged in elaborate human scenes. Froggyland differs because it concentrates almost entirely on frogs and survives as one of the largest intact collections devoted to a single species. Rather than presenting animals in natural habitats, it transforms them into actors playing recognisably human roles, blurring the boundary between natural history, folk humour and popular art.[National Trust for Scotland]nts.org.ukNational Trust for Scotland A ribbiting displayNational Trust for Scotland A ribbiting display

This historical context helps explain why the collection can seem simultaneously amusing and unsettling. Modern museum visitors often expect taxidermy to illustrate wildlife or scientific knowledge. Froggyland instead preserves an older tradition in which preserved animals served as characters in comic narratives intended to entertain audiences as much as educate them.[Atlas Obscura]atlasobscura.comAtlas Obscura The Hungarian Taxidermist Who Saw Frogs As PeopleAtlas Obscura The Hungarian Taxidermist Who Saw Frogs As People

Animal ethics and modern visitor reactions

The ethical debate surrounding Froggyland centres less on what visitors see today than on how the collection was created more than a century ago. The frogs were intentionally caught, killed and preserved to become works of art and entertainment. While such practices attracted little public criticism when the collection was made, many modern visitors view them through contemporary standards of animal welfare.[Wikipedia]WikipediaOpen source on wikipedia.org.

Online reviews and media coverage reveal sharply divided reactions. Many visitors admire the extraordinary craftsmanship and regard the museum as a fascinating historical curiosity. Others feel uncomfortable that hundreds of animals were deliberately killed for decorative purposes and argue that the displays normalise unnecessary animal use. The museum’s owner has responded by emphasising that the specimens are historical objects created in a different era rather than products of modern taxidermy.[NCPR]northcountrypublicradio.orgOpen source on northcountrypublicradio.org.

Unlike controversies involving contemporary wildlife collections, Froggyland does not encourage the production of new specimens. Instead, it presents an inherited collection whose historical significance is increasingly intertwined with ethical reflection. Visitors are therefore asked, implicitly rather than explicitly, to consider whether preserving such objects helps document changing cultural values or merely prolongs practices that many people now reject.[Tufts Self-Serve Blogs and Websites]sites.tufts.eduTufts Self-Serve Blogs and WebsitesFroggyland: The museum of frog people – Museum Studies Blog at Tufts University…

Why Froggyland matters in Croatia’s curiosity culture

Its importance lies not only in its eccentric appearance but also in the questions it encourages. The museum demonstrates how tastes in collecting, ideas about animals and expectations of museums have evolved. What once functioned as humorous entertainment is now equally valuable as evidence of changing ethics, museum practice and public attitudes towards the relationship between humans and animals. In that sense, Froggyland is both a curiosity and a historical document, illustrating how an unusual collection can outlive the culture that originally celebrated it.[Atlas Obscura]atlasobscura.comAtlas Obscura The Hungarian Taxidermist Who Saw Frogs As PeopleAtlas Obscura The Hungarian Taxidermist Who Saw Frogs As People

Amazon book picks

Further Reading

Books and field guides related to Froggyland and the Strange Art of Posed Frogs. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.

Book

The Breathless Zoo: Taxidermy and the Cultures of Longing

By Rachel Poliquin

From sixteenth-century cabinets of wonders to contemporary animal art, The Breathless Zoo: Taxidermy and the Cultures of Longing examines...

See on Amazon

Book

The Sixth Extinction

By Elizabeth Kolbert

"Over the last half billion years, there have been five major mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on Earth suddenly and dramatic...

See on Amazon

Book

Cabinet of Curiosities: Collecting and Understanding the Wond...

By Gordon Grice

Exactly the book for every young explorer who loves finding stuff in nature and bringing it home. Cabinet of Curiosities is a lavishly il...

See on Amazon

Book

Stuffed Animals: A Modern Guide to Taxidermy

By Robert Marbury

See on Amazon

Browse more on Amazon:The Breathless Zoo: Taxidermy and the Cultures of LongingThe Sixth ExtinctionCabinet of Curiosities: Collecting and Understanding the Wonders of the Natural World

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

eBay marketplace picks

Marketplace Samples

Live-tested eBay searches with available results related to this page.

Shop location

UsingUSA USA USAUKCanadaAustraliaIreland

Selected fromfrog wall art oneBay.co.uk.

Current eBay listing

FUNNY FROG JUMPING ON LEAF IN POND FRAMED CANVAS WALL ART PICTURE PRINT

GBP 12.74 | Free shippingNewSeller: canvas monkey (99.8% positive)Ships from: GB

View listing on eBay

Current eBay listing

Colorful Red-eyed Frog Portrait Nature Artistic Poster Wall Art Home Decor

GBP 9.00 | Free shippingNewSeller: pantherprint (99.7% positive)Ships from: GB

View listing on eBay

Current eBay listing

Frog Wall Art Frog King Portrait Art Print Toad Picture Frog In A Crown Print

GBP 5.99 | Free shippingNewSeller: moongiftscouk (99.8% positive)Ships from: GB

View listing on eBay

Browse more oneBay.co.uk

Example items shown for inspiration; availability and pricing can change. Branchoria may earn a commission if you purchase through outbound eBay links.

Endnotes

1. Source: Wikipedia
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Froggyland

2. Source: northcountrypublicradio.org
Link:https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/npr/1000842832/plus.npr.org/throughline

3. Source: academic.oup.com
Link:https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article-abstract/35/2/333/6605186

4. Source: sites.tufts.edu
Link:https://sites.tufts.edu/museumstudents/2021/06/28/froggyland-the-museum-of-frog-people/

5. Source: atlasobscura.com
Title: Atlas Obscura The Hungarian Taxidermist Who Saw Frogs As People
Link:https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-hungarian-taxidermist-who-saw-frogs-as-people

6. Source: atlasobscura.com
Title: Atlas Obscura Froggyland in Split
Link:https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/froggyland

Published: October 8, 2015

7. Source: splitcurated.com
Title: Split Curated Froggyland
Link:https://splitcurated.com/listings/froggyland/

8. Source: nts.org.uk
Title: National Trust for Scotland A ribbiting display
Link:https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/a-ribbiting-display

Additional References

9. Source: wonderfulmuseums.com
Title: Traditionally, many specimens in natural history collections were acquired throu
Link:https://www.wonderfulmuseums.com/museum/split-frog-museum/

Published: August 19, 2025

10. Source: youtube.com
Title: Croatia #7
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvzCebUXQ00

11. Source: youtube.com
Title: Discover Split | UNESCO Old Town, Diocletian’s Palace & Waterfront Walk in 4K
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFedwzQwWqs

12. Source: gpb.org
Link:https://www.gpb.org/news/2021/06/10/welcome-froggyland-the-croatian-taxidermy-museum-may-soon-come-the-us

13. Source: kpbs.org
Link:https://www.kpbs.org/news/2021/06/10/welcome-to-froggyland-the-croatian-taxidermy

14. Source: youtube.com
Title: Croatia- My Vintage Love- Episode 115
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vlInMWxSJE

15. Source: bpr.org
Link:https://www.bpr.org/npr-news-blue-ridge-public-radio/2021-06-10/welcome-to-froggyland-the-croatian-taxidermy-museum-that-may-soon-come-to-the-u-s

16. Source: youtube.com
Title: Day Trip from Split to Trogir | SPLIT CROATIA TRAVEL VLOG PART 2
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43QtNQWP_c8

17. Source: oxo.ua
Title: Fantastic world of frogs: the work of a Hungarian taxidermist
Link:https://oxo.ua/en/new/3876-fantastyczny-wiat-ab-dzie-o-w-gierskiego-taksydermisty

18. Source: youtube.com
Title: Happy International Museum Day | May 18th | Recover and Reimagine
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZhThQMxLC4