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Hősök tere

Millenniumi emlékmű

Millennium Memorial

Various sculptors
R. Vignali (Budapest)
1896-1906 (1946-55)

Budapest /  Millenniumi emlékmű

Description

The Millennium Memorial (also known as Millennium Monument or Millenary Monument) commemorates the thousandth anniversary of the arrival in the Carpathan basin of the seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th century, which was celebrated in 1896. The construction of the memorial was started in 1896, but it was partly finished only in 1900 and the square got its name then (Hősök tere = Heroes' Square). It includes statues of the leaders of these seven tribes and other outstanding figures of Hungarian history. In the Second World War is was damaged, and in the 1950s the statues of five Habsburg kings and the reliefs showing Habsburg history were replaced by statues Hungarian leaders, who revolted against the Habsburg rulers.

At the front of the monument is a large stone cenotaph surrounded by an ornamental iron chain. The cenotaph is dedicated To the memory of the heroes who gave their lives for the freedom of our people and our national independence.

The architect was Schickedanz Albert.
Sculptors of the original monument:
  • Zala György (1-12, statues 19 and 21; reliefs 13-14, 16-21; originally also statues 24 and 26 and reliefs 15, 22-26.
  • Füredi Richärd (statue 15; original statue 25)
  • Kiss György (statue 18)
  • Köllő Miklós (statue 17)
  • Margó Ede (statue 20; original statue 22)
  • Senyei Károly (statues 13, 16)
  • Telcs Ede (statue 14; original statue 23)
Sculptors of the statues and reliefs replaced in the 1950s are:
  • Antal Károly (relief 15)
  • Grantner Jenő (statue and relief 24)
  • Holló Barnabás (statue 22)
  • Kisfaludi Strobl Zsigmond (statues and reliefs 25-26)
  • Marton László (relief 22)
  • Szabó István (relief 23)
  • Vastagh György (statue 23)

Column

The central piece of the monument is a 36 m tall column topped by a 5 m tall statue of:

Budapest - Millenniumi emlékmű

1. Gábriel arkangyal - Archangel Gabriel, (Hebrew: גַּבְרִיאֵל, 'God is my strength'), archangel who serves as a messenger to humans from God (Wikipedia)..
5 m (15 feet) tall statue on a 36 m (120 feet) tall column. In his right hand the angel holds the Holy Crown of St. Stephen (Istvan), the first king of Hungary. In his left hand the angel holds a two barred apostolic cross, a symbol awarded to St. Stephen by the Pope in recognition of his efforts to convert Hungary to Christianity.

Sculpted by Zala György, 1900.

A hét vezér (Seven chieftains of the Magyars)

At the base of the column is a group of seven equestrian statues by by Zala György (Árpád 1912, the others 1928) and six chieftains of the Magyars at the time of their arrival to the Carpathian Basin in 895 AD, according to the Hungarian chronicler known as Anonymus, author of Gesta Hungarorum. See Wikipedia Seven chieftains of the Magyars (the seventh is Álmos, the father of Árpád). Their names are in the plinth.

Sculpted by Zala György.

Budapest - Millenniumi emlékmű

2. ÁRPÁD Árpád (c. 840 - c. 907), the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians (Magyars), c. 895 - c. 907, son of Álmos. Under his rule the Hungarian people settled in the Carpathian basin. The dynasty descending from him ruled the Principality of Hungary and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301. (Wikipedia).

Budapest - Millenniumi emlékmű
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3. ELŐD Előd, chieftain of the Hungarian tribe of the Nyék in the 9th century. The Nyék tribe occupied the region around Lake Balaton, mainly the areas what are known today Zala and Somogy counties (Wikipedia).
4. KOND Kond (Könd, Kund, Kend, Kende, Kurszán), chieftain of a Hungarian tribe in the 9th century (Wikipedia).
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5. HUBA Huba, chieftain of the Hungarian tribe of the White Magyars in the 9th century. This tribe occupied the region of the present towns of Győr and Komárom (Wikipedia).
6. OND Ond, chieftain of a Hungarian tribe in the 9th century (Wikipedia).
Budapest - Millenniumi emlékmű
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7. TAS Tas, chieftain of the Hungarian tribe of the Tarján in the 9th century (Wikipedia).
8. TÉTÉNY (Töhötöm) Töhötöm, Tühütüm or Tétény, chieftain of a Hungarian tribe in the 9th century (Wikipedia). (Wikipedia).
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Colonnades

Budapest - Millenniumi emlékmű Budapest - Millenniumi emlékmű

The back of the monument consists of two matched 20 m high colonnades, each with seven statues representing great figures of Hungarian history with bronze reliefs of their main action below each figure. On the faces of the outer edges are the years:

- 896 -       - 1896 -

Topping the edges of these colonnades are four sculpture groups, all by Zala György:

Budapest - Millenniumi emlékmű

9. Munka és Jólét - Labor and Wealth (1899)
a statue of a nude man with a scythe and a woman with fruit.

Budapest - Millenniumi emlékmű

10. Tudás és Dicsőség - Knowledge and Glory (1898).
a statue of a nude man holding a golden statue of Nike and a woman with a olive branch.

Budapest - Millenniumi emlékmű

11. Háború - War
a male figure driving a chariot using a snake as a whip.

Budapest - Millenniumi emlékmű

12. Béke - Peace
a female figure in a chariot holding a palm branch.

Statues and Reliefs on the colonnades

Various sculptors made the statues (2.8 m - 9 feet tall) in the colonnades, the reliefs (115 x 250 cm - 3'9" x 8'2") were originally all by Zala, but some are later replaced with others.

When the monument was originally constructed, Hungary was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and thus the last five spaces for statues on the right colonnade were reserved for members of the ruling Habsburg dynasty. These were: Ferdinand I (relief: Defense of the Castle at Eger); Leopold I (relief: Eugene of Savoy defeats the Turks at Zenta), Charles III, Maria Theresa (relief: The Hungarian Diet votes support 'vitam et sanguinem') and Franz Joseph (relief: Franz Joseph crowned by Gyula Andrássy). The monument was damaged in World War II and when it was rebuilt the Habsburgs were replaced by the current figures.

North (left) colonnade

13. SZENT ISTVÁN 997-1038 / Saint Stephen I of Hungary
(Esztergom 967-75 - Esztergom or Székesfehérvár 1038), Grand Prince of the Hungarians (997-1000) and the first King of Hungary (1000-1038) (Wikipedia)..

Sculpted by Senyei Károly, 1911.

Relief:
istván az 1000. év karácsonyán koronát kap a pápától
(At Christmas day of the year 1000 Stephen receives the crown from an emissary of the Pope)

Sculpted by by Zala György, 1912
Signed: öntötte r. vignali b.pest

Gerő writes: "Saint István (King Stephen) (997-1038), the Hungarian prince who converted the people to Christianity and, by accepting his crown from the Pope in 1001, had elevated Hungary to the status of kingdom and established it as a state in accordance with contemporary European norms, is represented in the first statue."

14. SZENT LÁSZLÓ 1077-1095 / Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary
(Poland c. 1045 - Nitra 1095), King of Hungary (1077-1095) (Wikipedia)..

Sculpted by Telcs Ede, 1911.

Relief:
lászló legyőzi a leányrabló kun vitézt
(St. Ladislaus slays the Cumanian abductor)

Sculpted by by Zala György, 1909
Signed: zala györgy 1909

Gerő writes: "King Saint László (1077-95). In the relief below the statue, his slaying of a Cumanian abductor is depicted. The choice of the theme, in addition to its presentation, reveals the creators' intention to give expression to the Hungarian national character. The enemy attacking the country was evil - to the point of abducting defenceless women - until the forceful intervention of the Hungarian king: this was intended to represent the notion of lawful and valiant self-defence, thereby justifying an increase in Hungary's power."

15. KÖNYVES KÁLMÁN 1095-1116 / King Coloman I the Book-lover
(Székesfehérvár c. 1074 - Székesfehérvár 1116)
King of Hungary (1095-1116)
(Wikipedia).

Sculpted by Füredi Richärd, 1906
Signed: Füredi

Relief:
kálmán király eltiltja a boszorkányégetést
(Coloman prohibits the burning of witches)

Sculpted by by Antal Károly, 1955

Originally here was the relief 'Conquest of Croatia and Dalmatia' by Zala György. This was removed since it depicted territorial expansion.

16. II. ANDRÁS 1205-1235 / King Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II the Jerosolimitan
(c. 1177 - Buda 1235)
King of Hungary (1205-1235) and Croatia (1205-1235)
(Wikipedia).

Sculpted by Senyei Károly, 1912.

Relief:
ii. András kereszteshadjáratot vezet jeruzsálem felszabadítására
(Andrew II leads a crusade to liberate Jerusalem)

Sculpted by by Zala György.

Gerő writes: "The next scene emphasizes Hungary's inseparability from Europe: the participation of King András II in medieval Europe's largest collective enterprise, the Crusades, symbolizing the active defence of the Christian faith and Christian devotion."

17. IV. BÉLA 1235-1270 / King Béla IV of Hungary
(1206-1270), King of Hungary and of Croatia (1235-1270) (Wikipedia)..

Sculpted by Köllő Miklós, 1905.

Relief:
iv. Béla a tatárjárás után felépíti az országot
(Béla rebuilds the country after the Mongol invasion)

Sculpted by by Zala György, 1912

Gerő writes: "The next relief depicts the Mongol Invasion of 1241-2, which dealt a devastating blow to the country. King Béla IV (1235-70) is shown rebuilding the medieval Hungarian state from the ruins of the invasion, embodying the ideal of unceasing, heroic activity and the spirit of reconstruction."

18. KÁROLY RÓBERT 1307-1342 / King Charles I of Hungary
also known as Charles Robert (1288 - 1342)
the first King of Hungary and Croatia (1308-1342) of the House of Anjou
(Wikipedia).

Sculpted by Kiss György, 1905.

Relief:
(no caption the original caption was:
"A magyarok a morvamezei ütközetben Cseh Ottokár ellen megsegítik Habsburg Rudolfot. 1278"
(The Hungarians in the field battle against Ottokar saved Rudolf von Habsburg, 1278)

Sculpted by by Zala György, 1912
Signed: gzala - öntötte r. vignali b.pest

Gerő writes: "The relief below the statue depicts an unrelated scene: the battle of Mohács (Marchfeld) on 26 August 1278, where the Hungarian king, László IV … hastened to the assistance of Rudolf Habsburg. The allies proceeded to defeat the Czech King Ottocar … The content of the relief is striking not only because it is at variance with the statue above it, but because of its political message." This relief was marked for removal in the light of the friendly relation with Czechoslovakia. Perhaps for financial reasons, it was not removed, only the inscription was eliminated.

19. NAGY LAJOS 1342-1382 / King Louis I of Hungary
(Visegrád 1326 - Nagyszombat/Trnava 1382), King of Hungary and Croatia (1342-1382) and King of Poland (1370-1382) (Wikipedia)..

Sculpted by Zala György, 1926.

Relief:
nagy lajos bevonul nápolyba 1348
(Louis the Great occupies Naples)

Sculpted by by Zala György, 1913.
Signed: öntötte r. vignali b.pest

Gerő writes:
"The reign of Lajos I the Great (1342-82) saw the greatest expansion of territory in the nation's history. The relief focuses on the King's entry into Naples in 1348, where he was received by Johanna its ruler. (Lajos was later forced to relinquish possession of Naples, though he did receive financial compensation.)"

South (right) colonnade

20. HUNYADI JÁNOS 1446-1452 / János Hunyadi
Ioannes Corvinus or de Hunyad (c. 1407- 1456), leading Hungarian military and political figure in the 15th-century history of Central and Southeastern Europe. Father of King Matthias I of Hungary (Wikipedia)..

Sculpted by Margó Ede, 1906.

Relief:
hunyadi nándorfehérvári győzelmével megállítja a török hódítókat
(Hunyadi's victory at Belgrade halts the Ottoman conquerors)

Sculpted by by Zala György, 1912.
Signed: Zala György - öntötte r. vignali b.pest

Gerő writes: "The next statue represents [originally] the only commoner in the monument, János Hunyadi (b. 1407?-56), who despite being only the governor of Hungary held the actual power. The event recorded on the relief is one of global importance. In 1456, at Belgrade, Hunyadi's forces halted the Turkish onslaught, ensuring not only the security of Hungary, but that of all Europe. The relief shows a scene in which a Turkish soldier, who had attempted to hoist a Turkish banner on a parapet of the besieged fortress, is seized by a Hungarian soldier, the two of them plummeting together to their deaths. The inclusion of the Battle of Belgrade in the monument was meant to demonstrate that Hungary had not only defended its own territorial integrity, but had heroically defended Europe and European civilization."

21. MÁTYÁS 1458-1490 / King Matthias I of Hungary
Matthias Corvinus (1443 - 1490), King of Hungary (as Matthias I) and Croatia (1458-1490), son of Hunyadi János (Wikipedia)..

Sculpted by Zala György, 1905Signed: zala / györgy.

Relief:
mátyás király tudósai körében
(Matthias with his scholars)

Sculpted by Zala György, 1909Signed: gzala - r. vignali b.pest

Gerő writes: "The final figure in this series is the great Renaissance ruler, Mátyás Hunyadi (Matthias Corvinus), who ruled (1458-90) after his father, the governor. Renowned for his humanist learning and enlightened court, Mátyás is depicted in the relief surrounded by scholars. By emphasizing Mátyás' role as a great patron of arts and sciences, the magnitude of the nation's cultural contribution was also expressed."

22. BOCSKAI ISTVÁN 1604-1606 / István Bocskay
(Kolozsvár / Cluj 1557 - Kassa / Košice 1606)
Hungarian Calvinist nobleman, Prince of Transylvania (1605-06), leader of a revolt against the Habsburg Emperor's effort to impose Roman Catholicism on the Kingdom of Hungary
(Wikipedia).

Sculpted by Holló Barnabás, 1953.


Relief:
bocskai hajdúi harcban a császári zsoldosokkal
(Hajdú soldiers defeat the imperial forces)

Sculpted by Marton László, 1953
Signed: marton l. 1953)

Originally here stood a statue of Ferdinand I by Margó Ede (1905) with relief 'Defense of the Castle at Eger' by Zala György, removed 1945. The statue of Bocskay István stood originally on Kodály Körönd, where it was replaced by a statue of Szondi György.

23. BETHLEN GÁBOR 1613-1629 / Gabriel Bethlen
Gabriel Bethlen (de Iktár)
(1580 - 1629)
king of Hungary (Gabriel I, 1620-1621), prince of Transylvania (1613-1629), duke of Opole (1622-1625) and leader of an anti-Habsburg insurrection in the Habsburg Royal Hungary
(Wikipedia).

Sculpted by ifj. Vastagh György, 1902.


Relief:
bethlen szövetséget köt a csehekkel 1620
(Bethlen concludes a treaty with Bohemia)

Sculpted by Szabó István, 1955

Originally here stood a statue of Charles III by Telcs Ede (1912) with relief by Zala György, removed 1945. This statue of Bethlen Gábor stood originally on Kodály Körönd, where it was replaced by a statue of Bottyán János.

24. THÖKÖLY IMRE 1678-1685 / Imre Thököly
Count Imre Thököly de Késmárk
(İzmit, Ottoman Empire 1657 - İzmit 1705)
Hungarian statesman, leader of an anti-Habsburg uprising, Prince of Transylvania, and (briefly) vassal king of Upper Hungary
(Wikipedia).

Sculpted by Grantner Jenő, 1954.
Signed: grantner 1954


Relief:
thököly kurucai a szikszói harcban legyőzik a labancokat 1679
(Thököly's Kuruc troops defeat the Labanc in the battle of Szikszó, 1679)

Sculpted by Grantner Jenő, 1946

Originally here stood a statue of Maria Theresa by Zala György (1911), damaged in the Second World War, restored in 2002 and now at Gödöllő castle, with relief 'The Hungarian Diet votes support 'vitam et sanguinem'' by Zala György.

25. II. RÁKÓCZI FERENC 1703-1711 / Francis II Rákóczi
(Borsi 1676 - Tekirdağ, Ottoman Empire 1735), Leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs in 1703-11 as the prince (fejedelem) of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of Hungary (Wikipedia)..

Sculpted by Kisfaludi Strobl Zsigmond, 1954.


Relief:
esze tamás jobbágyseregével fogadja a hazatérő rákóczit
(Tamás Esze's serf army welcomes Rákóczi at his return)

Sculpted by Kisfaludi Strobl Zsigmond, 1955

Originally here stood a statue of Leopold I by Füredi Richárd (1905), damaged in the Second World War, with relief 'Eugene of Savoy defeats the Turks at Zenta' by Zala György.

26. KOSSUTH LAJOS 1848-1849 / Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (Monok 1802 - Torino 1894) Hungarian lawyer, journalist, politician and Regent-President of the Kingdom of Hungary during the revolution of 1848-49 (Wikipedia)..

Sculpted by Kisfaludi Strobl Zsigmond, 1955.


Relief:
kossuth fegyverbe hívja az alföld népét
(Kossuth summoning the peasants of the Great Plain to arms)

Sculpted by Kisfaludi Strobl Zsigmond, 1955
Signed: Kisfaludi Strobl 1955

Originally here stood a statue of Franz Joseph I by Zala György (1906, broken; new version 1926), removed 1945, with relief 'Franz Joseph crowned by Gyula Andrássy' by Zala György.

Sculptors

Sources & Information

Tags

  • Füredi Richárd
  • Gabriel (Archangel)
  • Glory
  • Grantner Jenő "Abonyi"
  • Holló Barnabás
  • Huba
  • Hunyadi, János
  • Kisfaludi Strobl Zsigmond
  • Kiss György
  • Knowledge
  • Köllő Miklós
  • Kond
  • Kossuth, Lajos
  • Labour
  • Ladislaus I, king
  • Ladislaus IV, king
  • Lion
  • Louis I (King of Hungary)
  • Margó Ede
  • Marton László
  • Matthias I (King of Hungary)
  • Monarch
  • Nobleman
  • Ond
  • Peace (Pax)
  • Politician/Statesman
  • Rákóczi, Francis II
  • Rudolph of Habsburg
  • Schickedanz, Albert
  • Senyei Károly
  • Statue (man)
  • Statue on column
  • Stephen I of Hungary, St.
  • Szabó István
  • Telcs Ede
  • Thököly, Imre
  • Töhötöm
  • Vastagh György ifj.
  • Vignali (Budapest), R.
  • War
  • Wealth
  • Zala György
  • Locatie (N 47°30'54" - E 19°4'41") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

    Item Code: hubp098; Photograph: 7 September 2012  / updated: 22 November 2016
    Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
    If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
    © Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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