Budapest Guide
Lipótváros and Újlipótváros
Kossuth tér
The apotheosis of the government district and Hungary's romantic self-image comes at Kossuth tér, with its colossal Parliament building and memorials to national heroes and epic moments in Hungarian history. The square is named after Lajos Kossuth, the leader of the 1848 Revolution against the Habsburgs, who was originally represented by a sculptural tableau showing him and his ministers downcast by their defeat in 1849. However, the Communists replaced it with a more "heroic" statue of Kossuth rousing the nation to arms, by Kisfaludy-Strobl. The dramatic equestrian statue is of Prince Ferenc Rákóczi II, an earlier hero of the struggle for Hungarian independence, whose plinth is inscribed with the words "The wounds of the noble Hungarian nation burst open!" This is a reference to the anti-Habsburg war of 1703–11, but also perfectly describes the evening of October 23, 1956, when crowds filled the square, chanting anti-Stalinist slogans at Parliament – the prelude to the Uprising that night. Directly opposite Parliament, a black pillar upholds an Eternal Flame (sometimes extinguished), in memory of those who died on Kossuth tér on October 25, when ÁVO snipers opened fire on a peaceful crowd that was fraternizing with Soviet tank-crews.
Two more notable monuments can be seen in the vicinity. Immediately south of Parliament sits the brooding figure of Attila József, one of Hungary's finest poets, who was expelled from the Communist Party for trying to reconcile Marx and Freud, and committed suicide in 1937 after being rejected by his lover. His powerful, turbulent verse has never lost its popularity, and he earns his place here for his poem By the Danube. Further south beside the river is a poignant Holocaust Memorial: dozens of shoes cast in iron, marking the spot where hundreds of Jewish adults and children were machine-gunned by the Arrow Cross and their bodies thrown into the Danube. Before being massacred, they were made to remove their coats and footwear, which were earmarked for use by German civilians.