A few months ago I was excited to learn that a giant troll art structure would soon be coming to Austin's Pease Park. Austin's troll is the 129th troll that Danish artist Thomas Dambo has built out of discarded pallets, scrap lumber, and twigs, in more than a dozen countries. Like all of his trolls, it is made with as many recycled parts as possible. Dambo began making art as a dumpster diver, finding new purposes for what was considered trash by some, and making found objects into art that has been enjoyed by millions of people.
I am fortunate enough to have seen one of Dambo's largest U.S. installations, which is made up of five trolls located at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. So when I heard about the troll, I knew that it would soon become an iconic attraction in Austin. I was so interested that I signed up to become part of the team of volunteers who would help Dambo's core team to build the troll.
Construction began in Austin on February 28th. The head, hands, and feet had already been built at Dambo's studio in Denmark, and shipped to Austin prior to the start of the Pease Park installation. The rest of the structure is built with wood from Harvest Lumber, a sustainable sawmill that mills cut or fallen trees from around the city. Much of the outer surface of the structure is built using boards from a dismantled water tower from the University of Texas’s J. J. Pickle Research Campus in North Austin. Other decorative elements on the troll are built from donated and found cedar roots and limbs. The troll was completed and opened for public visits on March 15, 2024. It was announced then that the name of the sculpture is Malin's Fountain.
The Austin sculpture is Dambo’s first Texas troll, and it occupies a secluded spot, just north of the Kingsbury Commons section of Pease Park . Pease Park Conservancy is funding the troll via donations. Nicole Netherton, the Pease Park Conservancy CEO, said that Dambo’s warm, welcoming style matches the mission of the park. "So much of the message Dambo is sending with these larger-than-life sculptures is about finding joy in nature and experiencing something magical when you’re spending time outside," she said. The conservancy worked with city officials to make sure the sculpture, which will remain at the site for at least fifteen years, will have minimal environmental impact.
Malin's Fountain has a water theme due to its proximity to Lady Bird Lake, and because of the stories Dambo had heard about people in Austin leaving water out for animals when summers get too hot and dry. The troll is holding a large bowl to go with the water theme. Dambo has said that he "thought that it would be cool to make a sculpture that reminded us to share this world with the other species and share our water with them,"
Malin's Fountain has a water theme due to its proximity to Lady Bird Lake, and because of the stories Dambo had heard about people in Austin leaving water out for animals when summers get too hot and dry. The troll is holding a large bowl to go with the water theme. Dambo has said that he "thought that it would be cool to make a sculpture that reminded us to share this world with the other species and share our water with them,"
Update on Jul7 1, 2026:
Sadly, on May 21, 2026, Malin was burned to the ground. It is suspected that an arsonist is responsible for this tragedy, but no responsible party has been identified to date. Since then, the area that housed Malin’s Fountain has been restored, with the large steel bowl that was Malin’s Fountain placed in the center of a circle of rocks. The new arrangement allows for a nice place to sit and contemplate the meaning of Malin and to enjoy the serene beauty of the park. Fortunately, the rock that is engraved with a poem that is dedicated to Malin remains nearby, so it is possible to maintain the original requirements of this virtual.
The updated requirements to be able to log this virtual cache are to complete the following two tasks:
1) Answer the following question and send your answer to the Cache Owner. There is a poem engraved on a rock near Malin’s Fountain. What is the final word of the poem?
2) Post a photo of yourself or your gps device with the fountain visible in the background on your log. (You do not need to send me the photo. Just include it in your log.)
Any logs that have not completed both of these steps will be deleted.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 – 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.
