4/5 Vályi G. 4 years ago on Google
The
Kossuth
Memorial is
dedicated
to
former
Hungarian
Regent-President Lajos
Kossuth in
front
of
the Hungarian
Parliament
Building.
The
memorial
is
an
important Hungarian national
symbol
and
scene
of
official
celebrations.
After
the
death
of
Lajos
Kossuth
(1894)
and
his
sumptuous
funeral
in
Budapest
a
public
subscription
was
almost
immediately
announced
to
build
a
memorial
for
the
leader
of
the 1848
Revolution.
In
1906
the
competition
was
won
by János
Horvay after
long
debates
about
the
style
and
message
of
the
memorial.
Although
the
public
was
dissatisfied
with
Horvay’s
idea
the
sculptor
began
working.
Until
1914
all
the
figures
of
the
group
were
completed
except
Kossuth
himself
but
then
the
work
came
to
a
halt
because
of
World
War
I.
In
the
years
following
the
war
Horvay
completed
the
Kossuth
statue.
The
Kossuth
Memorial
was
officially
inaugurated
in
1927
before
a
crowd
of
100,000
people.
The
sculpture
group
depicts
the
members
of
the
first
Hungarian
parliamentary
government:
Lajos
Kossuth
(in
the
middle), Pál
Esterházy, Gábor
Klauzál, József
Eötvös, István
Széchenyi,
Prime
Minister Lajos
Batthyány, Bertalan
Szemere,
Ferenc
Deák and Lázár
Mészáros.
The
other
side
of
the
stone
back
wall
are
the
representatives
of
the
fighting
Hungarian
people.
Art
critics
condemned
the
melancholic
atmosphere
of
the
memorial
and
the
sculpture
remained
somewhat
unpopular.
The
after
WW2
communist
regime
decided
the
Horvay
made
memorial
wasn’t
appropriate
because
Kossuth
was
portrayed
as
a
lethargic,
troubled
figure
instead
of
an
enthusiastic,
suggestive
leader
who
mobilized
the
whole
country.
This
is
why
the
Monument
was
removed.
Zsigmond
Kisfaludy
Strobl
won
the
new
competition
with
a
Neo-Saxon,
Socreal
sculpture
group
instead
of
the
original
neo-baroque-Art
Nouveau
artwork.
However,
after
the
change
of
regime
in
90s
a
new
decision
was
made
to
restore
everything
in
the
original
state
on
Kossuth
Square.
So
the
statue
by
Kisfaludy
Strobl
was
removed,
and
a
copy
of
Horvay
sculpture
made
of
a
better
material
was
reinstalled
in
2015.
That
is
currently
visible
on
Kossuth
Square.
Regarding
the
future
we
all
are
uncertain...
19 people found this review helpful 👍
