Heroe’s Square, the most visited square in Budapest, even in Hungary

Budapest is full of stunning buildings and beautiful historical monuments. One of the main symbols of the capital city of Hungary is the Heroes’ Square.
Heroes’ Square is also the best known and the most visited square in Budapest and in Hungary as well. There are a total of four Heroes’ Squares only on the Pest side, but everybody talks about this special one.
Heroes’ Square is part of the UNESCO World Heritage, together with Andrássy Street. The square is situated at the end of Andrássy Street and it is the entrance of Városliget at the same time. The look of the square changed several times in Budapest history, its history began at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, when only one well, the Gloriette was here. The square we see today was built in 1896 for the Millennium Celebration and it commemorates the thousand-year-old Hungarian history. In 1932 it got its final name: Heroes’ Square.

There are 14 statues of emblematic historical personalities in the square, with an obelisk in the middle. The obelisk has a statue of Archangel Gabriel, which won the Grand Prix of the Paris World Exhibition in 1900. The bronze statues are all illustrating important figures of the country and in the Hungarian history, including Saint Stephen, the founder of Hungary (whose celebration is the greatest national holiday in Hungary at the 20th of August) or Lajos Kossuth, who was the spiritual leader of the War of Independence in 1848-49. Besides these, you can see the statue of war, the statues of the seven tribunes, the statue of peace, the statue of work and prosperity and the statue of knowledge and glory.
Most of the statues are the works of György Zala sculptor. The three main elements of the huge square are the Art Hall (Műcsarnok), built-in 1896, the Museum of Fine Arts (Szépművészeti Múzeum), built-in 1906 in an eclectic style, and the Historical building of Budapest the Millennium Memorial, which visually connects the above mentioned two. All of them designed by Albert Schickedanz. The atmosphere of the square is still catchy and special.
The modern city life and the proximity of a hundred year’s history are mixing there. Besides it is a tourist attraction, the square also accommodates large-scale public events. The square is the start and/or finish of many running competitions, for example, Budapest International Marathon, Budapest International Half Marathon or Vienna-Budapest Super Marathon. If you don’t like running, the huge square is perfect for skateboarding and rollerblading just like locals do there.
As the Place of worship in Budapest (Ötvenhatosok tere, previous name: Felvonulási tér) is very close to the Heroes’ Square they are almost unit, making the square to look bigger. The famous National Gallop also takes place here every year since 2008. If you prefer arts, you can get it there also. The so-called ARC exhibition (representing contemporary art) and the Connection (Kapcsolat) concert, – which is one of the biggest free music concert events in Europe – are held there too.
Making a shorter walk you can get to the famous Széchenyi thermal bath, or visit the castle of Vajdahunyad in Városliget. You can rent boats at the beautiful lake of Városliget, and wintertime you can put on your ice skates too. If you don’t like moving or got tired after the all day long sightseeing you can just have a rest at the foot of a statue. Just like everywhere in Budapest, you can enjoy the fascinating view of the lit-up monuments by night. Once you are in Budapest, be sure to go there! It can be summer or winter, weekend or weekday, Heroes’ Square always offers something for the visitors, if nothing else then its wonderful atmosphere, where you can feel the sparkling life of the city.