"The monument created as a memorial to 1000th anniversary of the Hungarian settlement, is a determinant work of art at Hősök tere. 14 renowned figures of Hungarian history find their place in this composition. In the middle the spirit of victory personified by Archangel Gabriel stands on top of a 36 metre-tall column...This Eclectic monument is a semicircular construction, 85 metres wide, 25 metres deep (the most inner point is 25 metres from the two end points of the semicircle), 13 metres high, the distance between the two wings is 20 metres. Between the pillars stand 14 statues of kings (chieftain, governor), 7 on the left and 7 on the right.
On the pedestal under the open niches in which the statues stand, are reliefs with inscriptions, illustrating historical events from the life of the person depicted by the statue above, or from that period of history.
The statues seen today: King Saint Stephen I (I. Szent István király), King Saint Laszló I (I. Szent László király), Kálmán the Bookish (Könyves Kálmán), Andrew II (II. András), Béla IV, Charles Robert (Károly Róbert), Louis I the Great (I. Nagy Lajos), János Hunyadi, Matthias I (Mátyás király), István Bocskai, Gábor Bethlen, Imre Thököly, Ferencz Rákóczi II, and Lajos Kossuth.
Above the rows of pillars there are two statues groups on each side. Within the butt piers of the colonnade are the two horse chariots of War and Peace; the outside is closed by the bronze, allegorical figures of Work and Prosperity, Knowledge and Glory.
In the centre of the monument the spirit of victory, Archangel Gabriel stands on a 36 metre-high Corinthian column designed by architect Albert Schikedanz. The statue created by György Zala won a Grand-Prix at the 1900 Paris World Exhibition.
Nearly 5 metres tall, the bronze archangel with extended wings holds up the Hungarian crown with one hand, a double cross with the other. The statues of Chieftain Árpád and the six other conquering tribe leaders on horseback stand around the pedestal of the column.
The National Memorial Stone (Nemzeti Hősi Emlékmű) of the Nation's Heroes (Nemzet Hősei), originally in front of the memorial column, was replaced in 1956 by the Hungarian Heroes' Memorial Stone designed by Béla Gebhardt. Decorated with a laurel branch, the capping stone bears the inscription: "In memory of the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of our people and independence of our nation".
Source: Hungarystartshere.com
08.01.2009