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Liberty Statue
Budapest and surrounding
Monuments, Sculptures
Monuments, Sculptures

Everyone knows about the American Statue of Liberty. But what about the Hungarian monument with the same name? It's time to restore justice and tell you about the Liberty Statue in Budapest, which has an equally interesting history and fate.

The memorial complex stands on Gellert Hill, the Buda side of the city. The idea of ​​its construction appeared in 1945 when Soviet troops liberated Hungary from the Nazis. Gellert Hill was not chosen by chance: fierce battles for the freedom of the country that claimed the lives of almost two hundred thousand people took place right here.

Initially, it was called the Liberation Monument. It was created by the Hungarian realist sculptor Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl. The installation of the monument and its grand opening took place in 1947. The monument depicts a 14-meter-tall lady, wearing a dress fluttering in the wind and holding a palm branch over her head. The bronze beauty proudly towers over Budapest on a 26-meter pedestal. Thanks to its convenient location and impressive size, it can be seen from almost every part of Budapest.

Two more sculptures are installed on both sides at the base of the monument. On the right is a wrestler defeating a hydra, and on the left is a young man with a burning torch. Until the early nineties, there was another sculpture of the Soviet Soldier-Liberator. A scarlet star placed next to the soldier showed the names of those who fought for the liberation of Budapest. But in the early nineties, the names were erased, the sculpture was dismantled and moved to Memento Park, and the Liberation Monument got the new name – the Liberty Statue. Even the idea of ​​the monument changed: today, it symbolizes not the feat of the Soviet Army in the fight against the Nazis but the struggle of Hungary for independence and peace.

You can reach the complex by a wide staircase. The tour of the monument will not take much time. But the magnificent panoramic view of the city which opens from there will entice you away for a long time.

Besides the Liberty Statue on Gellert Hill, there are many other noteworthy attractions like the monument to Buda and Pest, the Gellert Hill Cave, the St Gellert Monument, and the Garden of Philosophy.

Address: Szabadság szobor

Published by

Praskovia Ko

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