Memento Park
Encyclopedia
Memento Park is an open air museum in Budapest
, dedicated to monumental statues from Hungary's Communist period (1949–1989). There are statues of Lenin
, Marx
, and Engels
, as well as Hungarian Communist leaders such as Béla Kun
, Endre Ságvári, or Árpád Szakasits
. The park was designed by Hungarian architect, Ákos Eleőd
, who won the competition announced by the Budapest General Assembly (Fővárosi Közgyűlés) in 1991.
In 2006 marks a new chapter in the history of Memento Park. A life-sized copy of the tribune of the Stalin Monument in Budapest was built in the Statue Park with the broken bronze shoes on top of the pedestal. This is not an accurate copy of the original but only an artistic recreation by Ákos Eleőd.
In 2007 a new exhibition hall and a small movie theater was opened in Memento Park. The photo exhibition called “Stalin’s Boots” in the exhibition hall takes you through the history of the 1956 revolution, of the 1989-1990 political changes and of Memento Park – with both English and Hungarian captions. In the barrack-theatre you can see The life of an agent, a documentary on the methods used by the secret police, directed by Gábor Zsigmond Papp. The film is being shown with English subtitles.
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, dedicated to monumental statues from Hungary's Communist period (1949–1989). There are statues of Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
, Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, and Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
, as well as Hungarian Communist leaders such as Béla Kun
Béla Kun
Béla Kun , born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist politician and a Bolshevik Revolutionary who led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.- Early life :...
, Endre Ságvári, or Árpád Szakasits
Árpád Szakasits
Árpád Szakasits was a Hungarian Social Democrat, then Communist political figure. He served as the President of Hungary from 2 August 1948 to 23 August 1949....
. The park was designed by Hungarian architect, Ákos Eleőd
Ákos Eleod
Ákos Eleőd is a Hungarian architect responsible for designing Statue Park.- Additional Sources:* Ki kicsoda, 2006. MTI, Budapest, 2005.* Eleőd's - See also :* List of Hungarian architects...
, who won the competition announced by the Budapest General Assembly (Fővárosi Közgyűlés) in 1991.
History
After the fall of the Communist regime in Hungary in 1989, many of the Communist statues and monuments were immediately removed. These formed the basis for the current collection in statue park. On June 29, 1993, the second anniversary of the withdrawal of the Russian troops from Hungarian territory, the park celebrated a ribbon cutting and grand opening as a public an outdoor museum.In 2006 marks a new chapter in the history of Memento Park. A life-sized copy of the tribune of the Stalin Monument in Budapest was built in the Statue Park with the broken bronze shoes on top of the pedestal. This is not an accurate copy of the original but only an artistic recreation by Ákos Eleőd.
In 2007 a new exhibition hall and a small movie theater was opened in Memento Park. The photo exhibition called “Stalin’s Boots” in the exhibition hall takes you through the history of the 1956 revolution, of the 1989-1990 political changes and of Memento Park – with both English and Hungarian captions. In the barrack-theatre you can see The life of an agent, a documentary on the methods used by the secret police, directed by Gábor Zsigmond Papp. The film is being shown with English subtitles.
The Wall behind the Scenes
| Sculpture name (Original name) |
Author | Year | Construction material | Original location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenin Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a... (Lenin) |
Pátzay Pál | 1965 | bronze | Felvonulási tér (parallel to street Dozsa Gyorgy and beside the Városliget city park) |
| Karl Marx Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement... and Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research... (Marx és Engels) |
Segesdi György | 1971 | granit from Mauthausen Mauthausen Mauthausen is a small market town in Upper Austria, Austria. It is located at about 20 kilometers east of the city of Linz, and has a population of 4,850 .During World War II, it became the site of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp complex.... |
V. ker. Jászai Mari tér (at the main entrance of the communist party head quarters) |
The Endless Parade of Liberation Monuments
| Sculpture name (Original name) |
Author | Year | Construction material | Original location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red army soldier statue (Felszabadító szovjet katona) |
Kisfaludi Strobl Zsigmond | 1947 | bronze | Part of the Liberation Monument (Szabadság szobor) at the top of the Gellért Hill |
| Hungarian-Soviet Friendship Memorial (A magyar-szovjet barátság emlékműve) |
Kisfaludi Strobl Zsigmond | 1956 | bronze | X. Pataki (ma: Szent László) tér |
| Liberation Monument (Felszabadulási emlékmű) |
Kiss István | 1971 | limestone | XIV. Thököly street, 141. |
| Liberation Memorial Stone (Felszabadulási emlékkő) |
Unknown | 1960 | stone | I. Dísz tér |
| Soviet Heroic Memorial (Szovjet hősi emlékmű) |
László Péter | 1951 | limestone | XII: Széchenyi hegy, Rege park |
| Soviet-Hungarian Friendship (Szovjet-magyar barátság emlékműve) |
Búza Barna | 1975 | pyrogranit | X. Kőbánya-Óhegy, Barátság park |
| Soviet Heroic Memorial (Szovjet hősi emlékmű) |
Mikus Sándor | 1970 | bronze | XVI. Rákosszentmihály, Hősök tere |
| Soviet Heroic Memorial (Felszabadulási emlékmű) |
Kalló Viktor | 1965 | bronze, 2,6 meter | XIII. Béke tér |
| Soviet Heroic Memorial (Felszabadulási emlékmű) |
Kalló Viktor | 1965 | limestone | XIII. Béke tér |
| Soviet Heroic Memorial (Szovjet Hősi emlékmű) |
Megyeri Barna | 1948 | limestone | XVII. Kasztel András street |
The Endless Parade of Personalities of the Workers Movement
| Sculpture name (Original name) |
Author | Year | Construction material | Original location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenin Relief (Lenin-emléktábla) |
Szabó Iván | 1970 | bronze | VII. Lenin (ma: Erzsébet) tér |
| Georgi Dimitrov Georgi Dimitrov Georgi Dimitrov Mikhaylov , also known as Georgi Mikhaylovich Dimitrov , was a Bulgarian Communist politician... bust (Dimitrov mellszobor) |
Jordan Kracsmarov | 1954 | bronze | V. Dimitrov (ma: Fővám) tér |
| Georgi Dimitrov Georgi Dimitrov Georgi Dimitrov Mikhaylov , also known as Georgi Mikhaylovich Dimitrov , was a Bulgarian Communist politician... statue (Dimitrov szobor) |
Valentin Sztarcsev | 1983 | bronze | V. Dimitrov (ma: Fővám) tér |
| Béla Kun, Jenő Landler and Tibor Szamuely Memorial (Munkásmozgalmi harcosok emlékműve) |
Olcsai-Kiss Zoltán, Herczeg Klára, Farkas Aladár | 1967 | bronze | VIII. Kun Béla (ma: Ludovika) tér |
| Lenin (Lenin) |
Unknown soviet statue | 1958 | bronze | XXI. Csepel, Vasmű főbejárat |
| József Kalamár Bust (Kalamár József mellszobor) |
Gyenes Tamás | 1957 | bronze | XXI. Kalamár József (ma: Szent István) street |
| János Asztalos Memorial Plaque (Asztalos János emléktábla) |
Nagy István János | 1968 | stone | VIII. Nagyvárad tér |
| Róbert Kreutz Memorial Plaque (Kreutz Róbert emléktábla) |
Kiss Nagy András | 1977 | bronze | VIII. Asztalos János Ifjúsági Park (ma: Orczy Kert) |
| Béla Kun Béla Kun Béla Kun , born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist politician and a Bolshevik Revolutionary who led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.- Early life :... Memorial Plaque (Kun Béla emléktábla) |
Kalló Viktor | 1989 | bronze | XXI. Tanácsház (ma: Szent Imre) tér |
| Endre Ságvári Bust (Ságvári Endre mellszobor) |
Baksa Soós György | 1949 | bronze | V. Városház street 9-11. |
| Árpád Szakasits bust (Szakasits Árpád szobra) |
Marton László | 1988 | bronze | XI. Szakasits Árpád (ma: Etele) street |
| Béla Kun Béla Kun Béla Kun , born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist politician and a Bolshevik Revolutionary who led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.- Early life :... Memorial (Kun Béla emlékmű) |
Varga Imre | 1986 | bronze,chromium,copper | I. Vérmező-park |
| Ferenc Münnich statue (Münnich Ferenc szobra) |
Kiss István | 1986 | bronze | V. Néphadsereg (ma: Honvéd) tér |
| Ede Chlepkó Bust (Chlepkó Ede mellszobor) |
Szabó György | 1980 | bronze | XIX. Chlepkó Ede tér (ma: Ötvenhatosok tere) |
| Kálmán Turner Memorial Plaque (Turner Kálmán emléktábla) |
unknown | 1959 | marble | IX. Soroksári street |
| Kató Hámán Memorial Plaque (Hámán Kató emléktábla) |
unknown | 1959 | marble | IX: Mester street, 59. |
The Unending Promenade of Worker's Movement Concepts
| Scuplture name (Original name) |
Author | Year | Construction material | Original location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workers' and Soldiers' Council Memorial Plaque (A Munkás és Katonatanács emléktáblája) |
unknown | 1959 | marble | I. Szentháromság street, 2. |
| The Display of the Worker's Militia Monument (Munkásőr-demonstráció emléktábla) |
Kiss Nagy András | 1973 | bronze | VI. November 7. tér (ma: Oktogon) 2. |
| Workers' Movement Memorial (Munkásmozgalmi emlékmű) |
Kiss István | 1976 | steel | II. Hűvösvölgy |
| The Hungarian Fighters' in the Spanish International Brigades' Memorial (A spanyolországi nemzetközi brigádok magyar harcosainak emlékműve) |
Makrisz Agamemnon | 1968 | bronze and stone | V. Néphadsereg (ma: Honvéd) tér |
| Republic of Councils Monument (Tanácsköztársasági emlékmű) |
Kiss István | 1969 | bronze | XIV. Dózsa György street (Felvonulási tér) |
| The Republic of Councils Pioneers Memorial Plaque (Béke őrei dombormű) |
Ambrózi Sándor and Stöckert Károly | 1953 | stone | II. Pasaréti street, 191-193. |
| Hungarian Communist Party Memorial Plaque (KMP ferencvárosi szervezet emléktábla) |
unknown | 1959 | marble | IX. Soroksári street |
| Hungarian Communist Party Printing House Memorial Plaque (KMP Nyomda emléktábla) |
unknown | 1955 | marble | IX. Ráday u. 53. |
| The Heroes of Peoples' Power Memorial (A néphatalom hőseinek emlékhelye) |
Kalló Viktor | 1983 | stone | VIII. Köztársaság tér |
| Martyrs Monument (Az ellenforradalom mártírjainak emlékműve) |
Kalló Viktor | 1960 | stone | VIII. Köztársaság tér |
| The Buda Volunteers Regiment Memorial (A Budai Önkéntes Ezred emlékműve) |
Mészáros Mihály | 1975 | concrete | II. Tárogató street |
| Ostapenko (Osztapenkó) |
Kerényi Jenő | 1951 | bronze | XI: Budaörsi út - Balatoni út |
| Captain Steinmetz (Steinmetz kapitány) |
Mikus Sándor | 1958 | bronze | XVIII. Vöröshadsereg (ma: Üllői) street |
Events
Memento Park, beyond its role as a tourist attraction, also functions as a cultural and educational site housing art projects, festivals, professional and public events. There are Retro Festivals, Film Festivals, and several cultural programs. To the youngest visitors, there is a museum-education program that sheds light on the exhibits and helps students to process what they learn. The park is a popular site for tourists. It is opened every day from 10 o’clock in the morning until sunset. It is accessible by public transportation as well as a direct bus.See also
- Fallen Monument ParkFallen Monument ParkFallen Monument Park is a park outside the Krymsky Val building in Moscow shared by the modern art division of Tretyakov Gallery and Central House of Artists...
, the Russian equivalent. - Grūtas ParkGrutas ParkGrūtas Park is a sculpture garden of Soviet-era statues and an exposition of other Soviet ideological relics from the times of the Lithuanian SSR...
, in LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, known colloquially as "Stalin World" - List of Sculpture Parks
External links
- Memento Park official website
- A Sentence on Tyranny - Photographic images of the re-presentation of Soviet-era statues at Szobor Park in Budapest, Hungary An Exhibition in Wellington, New Zealand (2006).