Tales from Gellért Hill: From Top to Bottom, Part 1

The Gellért Hill is a prominent geographical feature in Budapest, offering both breathtaking panoramic views of the city and a deep historical significance. Rising 235 meters above the Danube it is considered the highest point of the downtown, offering a splendid hiking location close to the city centre and a variety of sights.

The hill itself was named after Saint Gellért, a bishop who played a crucial role in converting Hungary to Christianity. His tragic story alone was enough to inspire us to write this series which we would like to present to you.
In the following articles, we would like to bring you closer to the Gellért Hill and the stories and legends surrounding this area, listing interesting attractions and visible sights as well along the way. As promised, we will cover the attractions from the top to the bottom of the hill even going beneath it.

In our first chapter we would like to focus on the Statue of Liberty, an iconic landmark which indeed had, and probably has some controversy behind its meaning and massage.

Photo: Silverline Cruises

Asian Street Food Night Market

Photo: Silverline Cruises

Origins

The Statue of Liberty atop Gellért Hill in Budapest stands as a significant symbol of freedom and resilience, offering a commanding view over the city and the Danube River. This iconic monument, known locally as the “Szabadság Szobor,” has not only historical and cultural significance but also an intriguing backdrop of urban legends and unique anecdotes.

Erected in 1947, the Statue of Liberty was initially intended to commemorate the Soviet liberation of Hungary from Nazi occupation during World War II. Designed by Hungarian sculptor Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl, the statue features a female figure holding a palm leaf high above her head, symbolizing peace. The monument stands only 14 meters tall but with the entire structure, including its pedestal, it reaches an impressive 40 meters.

Currently in July 2024, the statue is undergoing significant restoration work and is enveloped in scaffolding. This maintenance is necessary to preserve the integrity and beauty of the statue, temporarily obscuring the monument from full view promising a renewed and restored look very soon.

Legends and facts

Urban legends and local tales add an extra layer of fascination to the Statue of Liberty. Some has no grounds at all, some are speculative, and of course there are always the facts. One popular legend suggests that the statue originally held a different item in its hand, possibly a torch, and that the palm leaf was a later addition.

Another story claims that the original face of the statue bore a striking resemblance to a prominent Soviet figure, which was subsequently altered to give it a more neutral appearance post-1956 Hungarian Revolution.

Someone else’s statue?

Horthy István – Photo: magyarnemzet.hu

A popular urban legend suggests that the Statue of Liberty was originally intended to be a memorial for Deputy Regent István Horthy, who died in an aviation accident on the front lines. The reality is that although Kisfaludi Strobl was indeed commissioned to create a statue of the younger Horthy for Budapest, this statue was never completed, and its designs bore no resemblance to the later Statue of Liberty. The sculptor himself was aware of the legend and protested it.

The true “Lady Liberty”

The artist Zsigmond Kisfaludy Strolb and Erzsébet Gaál the model
Forrás: Metropol – Fotó: Fortepan/Kotnyek Antal

What is fact however, and not so many people know of is that Kisfaludy chose a young girl from a small village in Vas County, Viszák, named Erzsébet Gaál, as his model for this statue. Erzsébet never received any recognition or honorarium for modelling for the statue, and at the end of her life, she worked as an X-ray assistant at the Sopron State Sanatorium.

The original composition

Photo: hellomagyar.hu

In front of the main female figure originally stood a six-meter-tall bronze Soviet soldier holding a flag and a submachine gun, flanked by bronze figures: one holding a torch on the left (symbolising the lit path toward communism) and a dragon slayer (symbolising the victory over the tyrannical fascist regime) on the right. Behind them was another three-meter-tall stone soldier. According to the original inscription, the monument was erected “in memory of the liberating Soviet heroes by the grateful Hungarian people” and was inaugurated on April 4, 1947, the second anniversary of “Hungary’s Liberation Day.”

Nicknames and growing hatred

Picture: Cartagena Hotels

During the communist era, the people of Pest often jokingly referred to the “liberation” monument as the “bottle opener.” Another joke about the statue was that: “the lady looks like she is holding a fish from the Danube this is why politics stinks here!” (even today) During the Soviet occupation (as time proved that our liberators had darker intentions in mind) people were mocking the Statue of Liberty by any means possible, even going as far as even punishing the model by occasionally stoning her on plain sight and even damaging the previously mentioned posing Soviet soldier statue beneath it. That statue after the 1956 Revolution was restored only to be permanently removed and to be allocated in the Memento Park after 1989.

The ghost of communism

Source: egykor.hu – Photo: Ády

In 1992, after the last of the stationary Soviet soldier left the country the artist Tamás St. Auby received permission to cover the statue with a huge white shroud for four days, which had two black eye holes. The enormous ghost-like creation was named “The Statue of the Spirit of Freedom” or the “Ghost Over Budapest” As the fate of the Liberty Statue was yet undecided, should it be dismantled like the rest of those statues symbolising Soviet valour.

Liberty in space

szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu

In 1980, the first Hungarian astronaut, Bertalan Farkas, took a model of the Statue of Liberty with him into space. Among other things, the mischievous astronaut also smuggled a mini bottle of Unicum onto the spacecraft. However, perhaps his most heartwarming act was reading a bedtime story live from space for the children of Hungary.

The Future of the Statue of Liberty

Picture: communicaffe.com

When this article was written the statue was scaffolded for many weeks.
During the work, specialists will clean the surface of the main statue and the other elements of the composition. The discovered stone defects on the pedestal and the erosion caused by weather conditions will be repaired, and the stone elements will be replaced and restored. Additionally, they will inspect the thousands of fastening screws and rivets in the statues and repair any defects caused by cracks. Following the renovation of the Liberty Statue, the redesign of the surrounding terrace will begin.

Despite the current scaffolding, which signals ongoing preservation efforts, the Statue of Liberty remains a beacon of Budapest’s complex and layered history. In summary, the Statue of Liberty atop Gellért Hill is not merely a monument, but a statue that continues to stand tall as a symbol of peace and liberty in Budapest. Beyond its historical and speculative allure, the Statue of Liberty on Gellért Hill is also a favourite spot for both tourists and locals due to the breathtaking panoramic view the Citadel and this statue offers.

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