Morse by Horse Frankfurt
Tech History on Hooves
If you’re walking along Theodor-Heuss-Allee in Frankfurt’s Westend and suddenly spot a large toy horse standing outside a modern office building: it’s “Morse by Horse”, a public artwork by Delbrügge & de Moll, and one of the city’s most clever (and charming) tributes to the history of data transmission.
This seemingly playful sculpture actually tells a very real tech story. It references a moment from the 19th century when Australia was building its first electromagnetic telegraph line from coast to coast. But before the east and west ends were fully connected, messages had to be carried on horseback across a final, unconnected stretch of rugged terrain. A local newspaper headlined the workaround with: "Morse by Horse!" — a perfect phrase for the blend of old and new.
In the same spirit, this toy horse in Frankfurt now sends jokes via Morse code into the headquarters of Sparkassen Informatik, the IT provider for Germany’s savings banks. It humorously symbolizes the transition from analog to digital, from hoofbeats to high-speed data. And yes, even if you can’t decode them, just knowing this horse is cracking jokes makes the moment worthwhile.
Personally, I love it because it looks like a giant toy from childhood, and because it greets office workers not with a logo or slogan, but with a wink and a joke (in code, of course). It’s smart, playful, and meaningful — everything great public art should be.
About this spot
Theodor-Heuss-Allee
- 247
€
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