The highlight for retro shoppers is the KGST Market, a special garage sale where visitors can browse and buy souvenirs and memorabilia that recall life during the Kádár era in Hungary.

The name KGST refers to the Hungarian acronym for Comecon, the Soviet-led economic organisation of the Eastern Bloc. The market is designed to evoke the feeling of that period, when certain household goods, not to mention Western-style products, could be difficult to buy.

Visitors can also bring their own unwanted retro items to sell, making the event part flea market, part history experience and part treasure hunt.

The KGST Market opens at 10:00 a.m. on Tanú Square in front of Memento Park’s Sculpture Park.

At 11:00 a.m., children can join the “Who Knows More About Grandma’s Childhood?” quiz, offering a playful introduction to what growing up in the socialist era was like.

Car enthusiasts take over at 1:00 p.m. with “Racing in the Footsteps of Merkur”, a gathering of socialist-era vehicles including Trabants, Wartburgs and Moskviches.

From 2:00 p.m., vinyl records provide the soundtrack for “Wish List from 2 to 5”, revisiting some of the defining music of the period.

A special guided tour at 3:00 p.m. will reveal behind-the-scenes film stories, hidden details and the history surrounding Memento Park’s iconic statues.

In the evening at 6:00 p.m. “I Am the Skála Kópé”, features quirky commercials from Hungary’s 'shortage economy', followed at 8:00 p.m. by the “Lenin’s Lanterns” flashlight walk through the park.

With its mix of retro shopping, classic cars, music, food, film and guided experiences, Memento Park’s first Retro Day offers an exciting way to revisit the sights and sounds of everyday life behind the Iron Curtain.

Address:
1223 Budapest, Balatoni út - Szabadkai utca

More:
Memento Park

Photo: Memento Park

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