Millenary Monument
The construction of the Millenary Monument was
begun in 1896, the thousandth anniversary of the
Conquest of the country by the Hungarians. It was
designed by the architect Albert Schickedanz and the
sculptor György Zala. The centre of the monument is
a 36-metre (160 ft.) high column with a winged genius
on top and the statues of the conquering Magyar chief
Árpád and of the chiefs of the other six tribes on the
pedestal. Behind these there is a semicircular colonnade
with the statues of the most outstanding Hungarian
kings, princes and commanders between the
columns. From left to right: St. Stephen, the founder
of the State, Ladislas I, Coloman, Andrew II and
Béla IV,
kings of the House of Árpád; Charles Robert
and Louis I known as the Great of the Angevin
dynasty; János Hunyadi, the hero of the wars against
the Turks, and
King Matthias; then Gábor Bethlen,
István Bocskai, Imre Thököly and Ferenc Rákóczi II,
princes of Transylvania, and finally Lajos Kossuth,
the leader of the 1848-49 War of Independence.
Below the bronze statues relieves commemorate historic
events. On top of the semicircle there are four symbolic
statues: Work and Wealth on the left, two chariots,
depicting War and Peace, in the centre, and
Honour and Glory on the right.