Iconic Heroes’ Square statue being renewed: here’s what its time capsule contained, PHOTOS
Change language:
A replica of the Archangel Gabriel statue, which was removed from Heroes’ Square for restoration, has been put on display at the Városliget Visitor Center, where the public can learn more about the work and its history. Here’s what the time capsule found in the column head contained.
By HellóMagyar, our Hungarian partner site.
Iconic Heroes’ Square statue’s replica in Budapest’s City Park
The exhibition, which opened on Wednesday, marks the comprehensive restoration of the Archangel Gabriel statue. For the first time in 120 years, the statue on Heroes’ Square has been removed from its place so that it can be completely renovated, said Benedek Gyorgyevics, CEO of Városliget Plc., at the opening of the pop-up exhibition on Wednesday.
He emphasised that the condition of the approximately five-meter-tall bronze statue has drastically deteriorated, as previous renovations only carried out aesthetic interventions on it, so a complete restoration has by now become essential.
Benedek Gyorgyevics emphasised that in order to ensure that visitors to the capital do not have to be without the angel during the restoration, a special experience space has been created in the building of the Museum of Ethnography, where those interested can take part in an interactive and spectacular journey through time.
Gábor Móczár, Director General of the National Heritage Institute, which performs administrative and control tasks related to the national memorial site, emphasised that over the past 120 years, not only the exterior of the statue but also its structure has been damaged to such an extent that its preservation is not only a cultural obligation but also a safety necessity, therefore its removal as soon as possible was inevitable.
He explained that the team of experts entrusted with the restoration is reviewing and renovating the statue with the most modern technologies and with the utmost thoroughness down to the smallest detail. He said that the biggest challenge is restoring the internal structural condition of the work, as only the external surfaces were treated during previous repairs, so the internal fixings and the bronze and steel structures must be assessed as thoroughly as possible.
“Our goal is to restore the statue not only visually but also structurally to its original condition, which will last for at least another 120 years.” In the first phase of the work, a huge scaffolding system was built around the 36-meter-tall column, which made it possible to carry out a detailed on-site survey of the statue and prepare it for removal. Hungary’s largest mobile crane was used for the work, as the bronze Gabriel statue is approximately five meters tall and has a significant weight.
The backbone of the exhibition is seven projection stations, which evoke the creation of the monument and the decades before and after it through archival recordings, cutouts and other visual creations. The exhibition also includes an interactive selfie point, where visitors can take pictures of themselves in front of a replica of the Archangel Gabriel statue.
