Memento . Park

Immediately after the fall of communism in 1991, Memento Park became the place where communist statues were moved to rest. Vladimir Lenin stands with Karl Max and the Hungarian communist leaders behind the rustic brick walls of a unique statue park in the hilly suburbs south of Budapest.

The entrance of Memento Park is like a large carpet of red bricks showing the respect of society as it was for Greek temples. In winter, when the landscape at the memorial is deep in cold white snow, it gives visitors a "Soviet" feel when visiting the monument.

Parked just behind the gate, an old Trabant – a vintage car made in East Germany, popular in Hungary before the 1990s – is placed as an interactive work of art. Next to it is a telephone box, where visitors can hear the voices of Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Che Guevara and politicians from the Communist Party of Hungary.

Memento Park was designed by Hungarian architect Ákos Eleőd, who won a design competition in 1991, describing it as “This park is about dictatorship. And at the same time because it can be talked about, described and built this Park is about democracy. Because in the end only democracy can give the opportunity to think freely about dictatorship.”

The park displays 42 works of art from the Communist era from 1945 to 1989, including allegorical monuments to the “Hungarian-Soviet Friendship” and “Liberation”, as well as statues of Famous figures in the labor movement, Red Army soldiers, and other giant works such as Leni, Marx, Engels, Dimitrov, Captain Ostapenko, Béla Kun and guest "heroes" of the Communist Party. One of the most visited statues by visitors is the Soldier of the Liberation Army, a six-meter-tall statue of a Soviet soldier with a sinister gaze that once stood atop Gellért Hill in central Budapest. A hammer and sickle flag in his hand and a revolver hanging from his neck make the statue more complete.

To reach Memento, local bus 150 in the direction of Campona takes about 20 minutes, which can also be accessed from Kelenföld train station (Subway Line 4) or Újbuda-központ. There is also a direct bus service from Deák Ferenc Square that departs at 11 a.m. daily and shuttles guests to the park's gates.

Address: Balatoni youngest - Szabadkai utca sarok, 1223 Budapest

Opening hours: daily 10:00 - pm