Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Hungarian-Soviet
Friendship
Memorial
There was never much
amity between the Soviet
Union, viewed as an occu-
pying force, and Hungary,
but this statue
(right)
of a
Hungarian worker greeting
a Red Army soldier would
like us to think otherwise.
&
Lenin
There are three Lenin
statues in the park. The
one of him clutching the
Manifesto
in one hand is
the most resonant.
(
Worker's Move-
ment Memorial
This sculpture of two
large hands about to clasp
a globe
(below)
symbol-
izes the working classes
being on the verge of
grasping the world in
their hands and creating
a utopian paradise.
)
Souvenir Shop
You could spend a
fortune in this capitalist
shrine to Communism,
which sells mementos
from all over the Soviet
bloc, including repro-
duction Soviet army
watches, Trabant keyrings
and CDs of rousing
Communist anthems.
Hungarian Fighters, Spanish International Brigades Memorial
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Republic of
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Georgi Dimitrov
Councils
Monument
This massive, 10-m (30-ft)
high statue almost makes
you want to leap up and
launch your own revo-
lution. It was designed to
call the working classes
to arms in order to
defend Hungary against
foreign aggressors.
The park features
two statues of Georgi
Dimitrov, leader of the
Bulgarian Communist
Party from 1945 to 1949.
Ákos Eleőd
The layout of Statue
Park is not haphazard.
In fact, it was carefully
designed and planned
by the architect Ákos
Eleőd, who wished to
create an “anti-prop-
aganda” theme park.
As he explained in his
own words: “it may be
a park dedicated to
dictatorship, but the fact
it is here, that it can be
talked about and dis-
cussed implies that it is
also a park about
democracy.”
^
Captain Steinmetz
In 1945, Captain Miklos
Steinmetz (right) was sent
by the Russian army to offer
terms of surrender to the
Nazis. The Germans, how-
ever, curtly dismissed him,
and he was killed while
returning to Soviet lines.
Video screenings throughout the day reveal the special methods
of the Communist secret service.
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