| Memento Park | |
|---|---|
Main entrance of with Lenin, Marx and Engels |
|
| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Budapest, Hungary |
| Created | 1993 |
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.
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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.
| Sculpture name (Original name) |
Author | Year | Construction material | Original location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenin (Lenin) |
Pátzay Pál | 1965 | bronze | Felvonulási tér (parallel to street Dozsa Gyorgy and beside the Városliget city park) |
| Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (Marx és Engels) |
Segesdi György | 1971 | granit from Mauthausen | V. ker. Jászai Mari tér (at the main entrance of the communist party head quarters) |
| 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 |
| 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 bust (Dimitrov mellszobor) |
Jordan Kracsmarov | 1954 | bronze | V. Dimitrov (ma: Fővám) tér |
| Georgi Dimitrov 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 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 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. |
| 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 |
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.