Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Liberation Monument and Citadella
Felszabadulási emlékmű • Bus #27 from Móricz Zsigmond körtér to the Busuló Juhász stop, followed by a
10min walk, or 20min walk up from the
Gellért Hotel
past the Cave Church
Whether youwalk uporget there bybus,the
summit
ofGellért-hegy affordsastunning
pan-
oramicview
,drawingone'seyeslowlyalongthecurvingriver,pastbridgesandmonumental
landmarks, and then on to the Buda Hills and Pest's suburbs, merging hazily with the distant
plain. The best time to enjoy the view is early morning. On the summit stands the
Libera-
tion Monument
, a female figure brandishing the palm of victory over 30m aloft. There is a
famous tale that the monument was originally commissioned by Admiral Horthy in memory
of his son István (who was killed in a plane crash on the Eastern Front in 1942), and that,
by substituting a palm branch for the propeller it was meant to hold and placing a statue of a
Red Army soldier at the base, the monument was deftly recycled to commemorate the Soviet
soldiers who died liberating Budapest from the Nazis. While the story may not be true, the
monument's sculptor,
Zsigmond Kisfaludi-Strobl
, certainly succeeded in winning approv-
al as a “Proletarian Artist”, despite having previously specialized in busts of the aristocracy
- and was henceforth known by his compatriots as “Kisfaludi-Strébel” (
strébel
meaning “to
climb” or “step from side to side”). The monument survived calls for its removal following
the end of Communism, but its inscription was rewritten to honour those who died for “Hun-
gary's prosperity”, and the Soviet soldier was banished to the
Memento Park
on the outskirts
of Budapest.
The Citadella
The
Citadella
behind the monument was built by the Habsburgs to dominate the city in the
aftermath of the 1848-49 Revolution; ironically, both its architects were Hungarians. When
the historic Compromise was reached in 1867, citizens breached the walls to affirm that it no
longer posed a threat to them - though in fact an SS regiment did later hole up in the citadel
during World War II. Today it has been usurped by a private company, which charges visitors
to set foot inside the walls (daily 9am-6pm; 1200Ft) and view an outdoor exhibition on the
hill's history since the Celtic Eravisci lived here two thousand years ago; the recreation of
a
Nazi bunker
in a concrete cellar is pretty dull - more interesting is the photo display on
wartime Budapest.
The Tabán
The
Tabán
district, bordering the northern end of Gellért-hegy, chiefly consists of arterial
roads built in Communist times on land left vacant by the prewar demolition of a quarter
renowned for its drinking dens and open sewers. Traditionally this was inhabited by Serbs
(Rác in Hungarian), who settled here en masse after the Turks were expelled, though in a
typically Balkan paradox, some were present earlier, working in the Ottoman gunpowder
