statue

US congressmen protest against Homan monument

Washington, DC, December 7 (MTI) – Leaders of the Unites States Congress bipartisan task force against anti-Semitism have voiced protest against Hungary’s plans to erect a monument to Horthy-era minister Balint Homan, the New York-based Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.

In a letter to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the body expressed “deep concern” about the monument, planned to be put up in central Hungary’s Szekesfehervar before the end of the year, and said that the WWII minister had “spearheaded Hungary’s anti-Jewish legislation and paved the way for deportations of and atrocities against Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust.”

Signatories to the letter urged the prime minister “to publicly condemn Homan’s role in the persecution and deportation of innocent Hungarians and to withdraw government funding for the construction of this or any statue in his honor.”

The letter was signed by Democrat deputies Nita Lowey, Eliot Engel, Steve Israel, and Ted Deutch, and by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chris Smith, Kay Granger, and Peter Roskam from the Republican side.

On Sunday, the World Jewish Congress also protested against the monument, and called on the government not to provide financing for such a project.

December 7, 2015

It has been investigated for 4 years how the plaque insulting Hungarians appeared in front of the Matthias statue in Kolozsvar

According to nullahategy.hu, the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office has been investigating for 4 years how the bronze plaque insulting Hungarians appeared in front of the Matthias statue in Kolozsvar – daily paper Freedom wrote in its Tuesday’s issue.

The Kolozs County Prosecutor’s Office told the daily newspaper that the county police investigate the case under the direction of the prosecutor. He added: the investigators managed to collect several evidences, but he rejected the more detailed information referring to the interests of the investigation.

The Kolozsvar Matthias sculptural group was unveiled in April 2011 after the restoration jointly supported by the Hungarian and the Romanian government.

A month later, unknown perpetrators placed a bronze plaque with a quote from historian Nicolae Iorga referring to the Romanian origin of Matthias at the pedestal of the statue. Former Kolozsvar mayor Sorin Apostu called the placement of the plaque a historical reparation. As Freedom recalled, former minister of culture Hunor Kelemen, chairman of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) and Balazs Gergely, former vice chairman of National Council of Transylvania (EMNT) filed a report for unauthorized intervention. The Prosecutor’s Office interrogated Balazs Gergely in September 2012, but Hunor Kelemen has not been summoned to hearing so far, nullahategy.hu wrote.

The quote attributed to the Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga “He was victorious in battle, he was only defeated by his own nation in Moldvabanya, when he fought against the invincible Moldva” was first placed on the pedestal of the statue in 1932. The inscription was removed in 1940 after the re-annexation of North Transylvania, but Gheroghe Funar, extreme nationalist mayor of Kolozsvar placed it again in 1992. During the restoration, the original Mathias Rex inscription was placed on the pedestal designed by Janos Fadrusz. The Iorga inscription was placed on the lawn in front of the statues.

based on the article of nullahategy.hu
translated by BA

Photo: Istvanka / Wikimedia Commons

October 28, 2015

Venet sculpture unveiled in Budapest

Budapest, July 16 (MTI) – An 8 tonne steel sculpture by renowned French contemporary artist Bernar Venet was unveiled in central Budapest on Thursday.

Arcs in Disorder can be viewed in March 15 Square near Elizabeth Bridge.

Venet told MTI at the unveiling that he originally planned to display Arcs in southern France, but decided on Budapest instead, given the “prominent” spot on offer.

Venet noted that over the past 20 years he had made his steel compositions in partnership with Hungary’s Szalai metal works, adding that several of his works were exhibited in the Budapest Arts Hall in 2012.

The 1 million euro composition was transported to Budapest from Vienna’s Belvedere Palace’s gardens, Viola Lukács, the curator, noted.

Photo: MTI

July 16, 2015

Monuments of famous Hungarians all over the world

Szeretlekmagyarország.hu has collected five different places all around the world where statues, monuments, and memorials keep the memories and heritages of famous Hungarian people. These people deserve to be remembered even outside their native countries.

1. Lajos Kossuth Monument in New York City

In 1927, Hungarian-American Géza Barko initiated a campaign through the daily Amerikai Magyar Nepszava to erect a statue to Kossuth in New York City. Although fund raising was conducted primarily through Hungarian-American religious and civic groups, the general public of New York contributed as well. Mayor James Walker organized and headed a statue committee and convinced the city council to designate a fitting location on Riverside Drive.

Photo: erdely.ma

The original idea was for a memorial bust; but fund raising met with an unexpected response and a full-blown monument resulted.

Hungarian sculptor Janos Horvai was commissioned to design the sculptural grouping, based on the Kossuth statue in Cegléd, Hungary. The project progressed with astonishing speed and on November 5, 1927 ground was broken for the base of the statue.

The statue shows Kossuth holding the sword of Washington, which was gifted to him when he was in America.

2. Bartók Béla Statue in Brussels

Béla Bartók has always been popular in Belgium. The statue of the Hungarian composer and pianist is located in the centre of Brussels.

The statue was a gift from Hungary to Brussels, which is a great thing, because it had taken several months before the Belgian capital accepted it.

Bartok is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He shares the honour as Hungary’s greatest composer with Franz Liszt.

3. István Bocskai Statue in Geneva

As a recognized patron of Protestant Reformation, the István Bocskai Statue can be found on the Reformation Wall in Geneva, Switzerland. The wall honours many of the main individuals, events, and documents of the Protestant Reformation by depicting them in statues and bas-reliefs.

István Bocskai was a Hungarian Calvinist nobleman, and Prince of Transylvania, who was an eager advocate of the Hungarian interests and became the leader of a revolt against the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor’s effort to impose Roman Catholicism on the Kingdom of Hungary, when it was partitioned between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy.

4. Francis II Rákóczi Museum in Tekirdag (Rodostó)

The Rákóczi Museum is a historic house museum in Tekirdag, northwestern Turkey, which is a rebuilt 18th century house devoted to the life and times of the Hungarian national hero, Francis II Rákóczi, who lived in this house in exile during his last years between 1720 and 1735. The house was transformed in 1982 into a museum after it was donated to the Hungarian State. Since then, it has become a place of national pilgrimage for Hungarians.

5. Ferenc Puskás Statue in Madrid

The Ferenc Puskás Statue was erected in 2005 in Madrid, when the new Real Madrid training centre was inaugurated.

Ferenc Puskás was a Hungarian football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary, and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. He became Olympic champion in 1952, and led his nation to the final of the 1954 World Cup, where he was named the tournament’s best player. He won three European Cups (1959, 1960, 1966), 10 national championships (5 Hungarian and 5 Spanish Primera División) and 8 top individual scoring honours.

While playing for Real Madrid, Puskás won four Pichichis, and scored seven goals in two European Champions Cup finals. In 1995, he was recognized as the top scorer of the 20th century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

based on the article of szeretlekmagyarország.hu
translated by Gábor Hajnal

July 12, 2015

Statue of WWII hero unveiled in Buda Castle

Budapest (MTI) – Colonel-General Ferenc Koszorus was a soldier who never allowed the faith in the nation to be lost, said Speaker of Parliament Laszlo Kover at the unveiling of the World War hero’s statue in the Buda Castle on Tuesday.

Koszorus “helped make people more humane, Hungarians more Hungarian,” Kover said.

Addressing the ceremony, Defence Minister Csaba Hende said Koszorus was an excellent soldier who proved his abilities at the Don battles, among other places. He protected those who faced deportation in 1944, saving around 250,000-280,000 Jews from yellow-star houses.

Hende said the heroic and exemplary acts of Ferenc Koszorus were denied for decades and “some deny them even today.”

Photo: MTI

July 8, 2015

Ader re-inaugurates Kossuth statue at Parliament

Budapest (MTI) – President Janos Ader re-inaugurated a statue depicting Lajos Kossuth and members of the historic Batthyany government in Kossuth Square near Parliament on Tuesday.

He said that on this day 167 years ago, Kossuth, a delegate from Pest county, submitted a proposal to the Parliament in Bratislava, asking MPs to join forces in the interest of Hungary’s main targets. This proposal later developed into a programme for a civic Hungary, he added.

“If we look at the great figures of our history, we can see people who considered public trust, public consensus, loyalty and shaking hands more important than any personal disputes,” Ader said.

This is why Hungarians wanted to see a statue depicting the members of the first Hungarian government at the beginning of the 20th century, he added referring to the time when the Kossuth statue was originally inaugurated at parliament in 1927.

However, this original statue was moved to the southeast Hungarian town of Dombovar in the early 1950s and replaced with a different composition, depicting Kossuth surrounded by peasants and workers, in line with the Communist ideology of the time.

Under the arrangements of the recent revamp programme for the square, the original Kossuth statue by Janos Horvay has been recast, and this is the statue that was inaugurated on Tuesday.

Photo: MTI

March 4, 2015

We Love Budapest: Strange sculptures in Budapest

We got used to sculptures so much that most of the time we don’t even realize their presence. Often, we pass by strange objects without looking at them, even though sometimes we should. We decided to slow down a little bit and walk with our eyes open in search for something interesting. We found what we were looking for, reports WeLoveBudapest.

Theater, or “Hofi” sculpture
Instead of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, this sculpture in Nagymező utca portrays Geza Hofi, a famous Hungarian actor-comedian, therefore the story it tells is also a little bit different from the original one of Shakespeare’s famous play. The spectacular object in the middle of the Broadway of Pest was unveiled in 2004 and it intends to represent the joy of acting.

Dragonflies at a playground
The intention behind this sculpture is a mystery. If the almost 2 meter-tall insects were mosquitos we could at least joke about their location at Vérmező (Blood field), but since they are dragonflies we can’t find an acceptable explanation. One thing is for sure though. Kids and odonatologists (dragonfly scientists) really appreciate the strange creatures in the middle of the playground.

Floating siren
Sirens can do many unexpected things, according to ancient Greek mythology. It’s also very unexpected that a siren sculpture was chosen in 1990 as the main decoration of Liget Hotel. The dancing siren doesn’t fit in the environment at all, so we have to assume that it’s all about tricking more guest into staying here… you know, once a siren start to sing, no man can resist.

Making a mouth
Hiding in the 2nd district there is an adorable sculpture, waiting to be smiled at. The object is so strange that it’s impossible to find out what it means. After some research, however, it becomes all very clear; it is what it is: a man doing a handstand on an imaginary sea creature and it’s simply about having fun. How could it be more obvious?

Centaur fishing for tritons
Tritons are half human and half fish creatures, and by looking at the sculpture in Széchenyi fürdő we can learn that they are also delicious treats for centaurs. The horse-like warriors, according to the well-known Greek stories, normally kidnap women, but this time they seem to be craving for something special.

Chess players
These chess players don’t seem to be distracted even by the presence of Steve Jobs whose sculpture is also here in Graphisoft Park. It looks like they have plenty of time to consider their next move, but the chess figures on the ground reveal that we are witnessing a furious struggle. We know it would be great to pick them up and join the game, but unfortunately it’s not possible because of a wire.

September 15, 2013