Buda Castle’s Turul statue flew away – PHOTOS, VIDEO
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The turul statue, a symbol of Hungarians, standing on the top of the Buda Castle did not actually fly away, of course; it was removed for restoration works.
Due to its run-down condition, the turul statue was removed by a massive crane so that experts can do their magic and restore it into its original glory in their open-air restorer workshop set up on Savoyai terrace, as reported origo.hu.
In the upcoming months, those visiting the Castle, once the home of Hungarian Queen Sisi, can take a look at the recovery works. The statue, which has been towering above the Hungarian capital for almost 120 years, is one of the most outstanding parts of the Palace district of the Buda Castle.
The work of art of Gyula Balog was erected in 1905 during the 100th anniversary of the Palace’s construction,
on the corner of the ornamented fence of the Habsburg Gate.
The enormous bronze monument holds a sword in its claws while looking towards the Danube with its wings wide open, ready to fly at any second. The statue representing the legendary bird featured in Hungarian mythology is a considerable work just by its size in itself:
it is 10.5 metres tall, the distance between its open wings reaches 12.5 metres.
Its stone pedestal is decorated with Hungary’s crest.
The bird survived the Second World War, though with several damages, for which smaller and bigger corrections and maintenance works were necessary. However, its condition has deteriorated significantly since then, so complete reconstruction will be carried out under the National Hauszmann Programme.