Though I don’t believe in fabulous creatures, I always love to see depictions of them. I found this pair of griffins guarding a bollard in front of a building on the historicizing Wiener Ringstraße (Vienna Ring Road).
Where can we see griffons?
Ancient myths and even Christian beliefs often mentioned the fabulous gryphons. As a result, they found their way into the coat of arms of European places and countries. For example, they are part of the Rostock city arms. So, I was not surprised to see them on the sewer covers of Rostock years ago.
In ancient sources, griffins often guarded treasures and places worth protecting. Therefore, it made complete sense to me to find them in front of a gate. Besides that, decorating a bollard underlines the purpose of such a piece of stone: Protecting the building against crashes with horse-drawn carriages.