Liberty Statue (Budapest)

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The Liberty Statue or Freedom Statue (Hungarian: Szabadság-szobor [ˈsɒbɒtt͡ʃaːɡ ˈsobor]) is a monument on the Gellért Hill in Budapest, Hungary. It commemorates those who sacrificed their lives for the independence, freedom, and prosperity of Hungary.

History

It was first erected in 1947 in remembrance of the Soviet liberation of Hungary during World War II, which ended the occupation by Nazi Germany. Its location upon Gellért Hill makes it a prominent feature of Budapest's cityscape.^[1]

The 14 m tall bronze statue stands atop a 26 m pedestal and holds a

At the time of the monument's construction, the defeat of Axis forces by the Red Army was officially proclaimed “liberation”—leading to the original inscription upon the memorial (both in Hungarian and Russian):

A FELSZABADÍTÓ
SZOVJET HŐSÖK
EMLÉKÉRE
A HÁLÁS MAGYAR NÉP
1945

which can be translated to read, "To the memory of the liberating Soviet heroes [erected by] the grateful Hungarian people [in] 1945".

Over the following years, public sentiment toward the Soviets decreased to the point of

Translated from Hungarian: "To the memory of those all who sacrificed their lives for the independence, freedom, and prosperity of Hungary". The Russian-language version of the tribute was removed in its entirety.

From the city

• 
  From Saint Stephen's Basilica
• 
  From ELTE Trefort garden
• 
  From Stock Exchange Palace
• 
  From Városház utca 1.
• 
  From Vértanúk tere 1.
• 
  With Sziklatemplom
• 
  From ELTE library
• 
  From Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 9.
• 
  From EX MÁV headquarters
• 
  From Vörösmarty tér
• 
  From MOL Campus

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Statue of Liberty (Budapest).

• Hungary during World War II
• People's Republic of Hungary
• Hungarian Revolution of 1956
• List of tallest statues

References

47°29′11″N 19°02′53″E / 47.48639°N 19.04806°E / 47.48639; 19.04806