On the outskirts of Budapest, about a half an hour drive from the centre, lies Memento Park. It is a memorial park where they’ve gathered different statues from the communist period. They come from all over the country and give you a peak into Hungary’s history. You can wander around the statues by yourself, or you can go on a guided tour. I opted for the all inclusive package.
Every day at 11AM, a van leaves for the park from Deak square. I was greeted by our guide and found a spot on the van. We drove towards the Buda side, while listening to some information and communist songs. When we arrived, there was some free time until the tour started. Our guide took us around the park for 45 minutes, starting at the front, where a big tribune with two boots on it stood. The boots used to be filled by an immense Stalin statue, but during the 1956 uprising, the people chopped it in half at the knees. The boots standing here are just a replica, since the original was destroyed when communism ended.
Most of the statues in the city were removed in 1992. Only two communist statues remain: the one on Liberty square, thanking the Soviets for liberating the country in world war two, and the Liberty statue at the Citadella. The Citadella statue had become an icon of the city and is relatively modest, with general items representing freedom. The statue that stood in front of her was not so lucky, and was removed and taken to Memento park.
Memento park doesn’t want to glorify communism, but is creating a look into history. Many statues were built after the war or on anniversaries of it, to thank the Soviet soldiers for all they’ve done. Others are representing the workforce, propaganda for how much good communism does. The guided tour is really essential for understanding what you’re looking at and getting the most out of your visit. The guide tells about the metaphors in the park and the history behind some of the statues. And they can even tell you about what people thought of these statues, compare them to the real people or share the jokes that were made about the statues.
When you’ve seen them all, you can go back to the tribune. Next to it is a small building with some interesting photos from the communist times. There is also a series of videos playing. They show the instruction videos for new spies to the communist regime. It’s interesting and at times hilarious to watch. Like when I saw a video showing how to enter illegally into someone’s house. The phone rang and the video explained this could be one of three reasons: someone has the wrong number, someone wants to talk to the owner, or the owner is checking on their house. The message was: don’t answer the phone. I guess the new recruits weren’t always too bright!
After 1,5 hours at the park, the van brought us all back to the city centre. My visit had been different from what I expected, and it was smaller than I’d expected too, but I really enjoyed it because of the tour. I got to see things from the past and learned a lot about this important part of history.