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Budapest, the city of women – Part 2
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Based on street-plates, Budapest is the city of men. Just take a ride on any public transport vehicle and you’ll be overwhelmed by stations that were named after famous Hungarian men. However, our history is full of famous women as well, let they be rulers, amazons or talented actresses. Our readers seemed to really like the previous article so we decided to put together a part 2 with the choices of funzine.hu and our additions.
Erzsébet Királyné Road
Empress Elisabeth, mostly referred to as Sisi, was the wife of Franz Joseph I. She played an important role in Hungarian history, because the famously beautiful empress was the first to show real interest in Hungarians after long centuries. The whole nation loved her and called her the “Queen of the Hungarians”. According to rubicon.hu, she lived a troubled life in the royal court, and spent the last years of her life mourning for her deceased children. An Italian anti-Habsburg anarchist assassinated the queen in 1898. Her unexpected death shook the whole empire, and Hungarians wanted to honour her memory with naming several streets, squares after her, mounting statues and establishing parks. Sisi embodied the female ideal, the painful motherly fate and the fight for freedom at the same time.
Jászai Mari Square
Mari Jászai was one of the most celebrated Hungarian actresses, the dame of the National Theatre and the greatest Hungarian tragedienne. According to szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu, reading her memoir is still fascinating today. Even though she was known to be a man-eater, she wrote that she had never found a deserving partner neither on stage nor in life. Nonetheless, the reason she gained incredible fame was due to her captivating acting. Contemporary critics already praised her for her most famous roles as Gertrudis, Eve and Antigone. The square found at the Pest bridgehead of Margaret Bridge commemorates the actress.
