The Liberty Statue in Budapest

The Liberty Statue in Budapest stands on the highest hill overlooking the city.   It is a 14m bronze statue of a lady holding a palm leaf, and is on a 26m pedestal, so can be seen from many parts of Budapest.

The statue itself has a bit of mixed history.   Initially, it was constructed in 1947 to commemorate the liberation of Hungary from the Nazi regime by the Soviets in WWII.  However, that was before Hungary realized that their “rescuers” had no intentions of leaving anytime soon, and that they (the Hungarians) had to endure the Communist ideology that the new bosses imposed.  The original inscription on the statue read :

“To the memory of the liberating Soviet heroes [erected by] the grateful Hungarian people [in] 1945”.

The Soviets finally left Hungary in 1991, Hungary went from Communist rule to democracy,  and the inscription on the statue now reads :

“To the memory of all those who sacrificed their lives for the independence, freedom and success of Hungary”