Memento Park

Budapest, Hungary

Memento Park is an open-air museum in Budapest, dedicated to monumental statues from Hungary's Communist period (1949–1989). There are statues of Lenin, Marx, and Engels, as well as several Hungarian Communist leaders. The park was designed by Hungarian architect Ákos Eleőd, who won the competition announced by the Budapest General Assembly in 1991.

Memento Park is divided into two sections: Statue Park, officially named “A Sentence About Tyranny” Park after a poem of the same name by Gyula Ilyés, and Witness Square (also called 'Neverwas Square'). Statue Park houses 42 of the statues that were removed from Budapest after the fall of communism. Witness Square holds a replica of Stalin's Boots which became a symbol of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 after the statue of Stalin was pulled down from its pedestal in 1956.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Balatoni út, Budapest, Hungary

See all sites in Budapest

Details

Founded: 1991
Category: Museums in Hungary

More Information

visitbudapest.travel
www.budapestinfo.org
www.mementopark.hu
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

3.9/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Citadella (7,6 km)
Gellért Hill Cave (7,7 km)
Rudas Baths (7,9 km)
Nagytétény Castle (4,1 km)

Matthias Church (8,8 km)
Fisherman's Bastion (8,8 km)
St. Stephen's Basilica (9,3 km)
Hungarian Parliament Building (9,6 km)
Hungarian National Gallery (8,4 km)
Buda Castle (8,3 km)
Heroes' Square (11,5 km)
Dohány Street Synagogue (9 km)
Hungarian State Opera House (9,6 km)

User Reviews

Beth Gabor (3 years ago)
Fascinating & important place. I love that Stalin's boots recreation are outside the gates and free for all to see.

Balazs Vincze (3 years ago)
Overall liked it. But this place could attract foreign tourists, with more signs placed in English. Perhaps subtitle the cinema in English. And I know this is just me, but a T34 placed somewhere would attract many more children. However I know the parks resources are limited.

Marc Codreanu (3 years ago)
Interesting to see and learn the history of Communism in Hungary.

Kamil Brzakala (3 years ago)
A great idea. The park it self is quite small it's only around 20 sculptures but some of them like Stalin's shoes are quite impressive. There's also an informative exhibition in a tent outside.

Michael Monaco (3 years ago)
A very interesting and culturally enlightening experience. I visited with my wife and her family and we had a great time. It’s a bit of a trip out of the city which we really liked. Great atmosphere and when we visited it was a bit drizzly which gave it a very USSR feel.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Timeless Treasures of Wales

Gothic Cathedrals of Belgium

Migthy Cathar Castles

Photo from Flickr, copyright ys*

Historic Site of the week

Goryokaku Fortress

Goryōkaku (五稜郭) (literally, 'five-point fort') is a star fort in the Japanese city of Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido. The fortress was completed in 1866. It was the main fortress of the short-lived Republic of Ezo.

Goryōkaku was designed in 1855 by Takeda Ayasaburō and Jules Brunet. Their plans was based on the work of the French architect Vauban. The fortress was completed in 1866, two years before the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It is shaped like a five-pointed star. This allowed for greater numbers of gun emplacements on its walls than a traditional Japanese fortress, and reduced the number of blind spots where a cannon could not fire.

The fort was built by the Tokugawa shogunate to protect the Tsugaru Strait against a possible invasion by the Meiji government.

Goryōkaku is famous as the site of the last battle of the Boshin War.