Have a great day and slowly walk down on Andrássy Avenue, what used to compare with champs elysees, from Deák Ferenc square towards the spacious Heroes’ Square and the nearly 40 m high column with a statue on the top draw the eye.
The attractive open square is one of the most emblematic and photographed sights of Budapest and help to understand to foreginers hungarians heritage.
- Getting there: M1 (yellow) metro line, Hősök tere station
History and Architecture of Heroes’ Square
The monument was built for the 1896 Millennium celebrations, that’s why it is called Millennium Monument.
Hungary celebrated the 1000th anniversary that its ancestors found a place to settle down in the Carpathian Basin. Every part of the monument plays tribute to determining parts of Hungary’s history.
The memorial won the first prize at the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris. The monument was completely finished in 1929 and the square received its name then too.
Who is on the Top of the Central Column?
The 36 m high Corinthian column dominates the square with Archangel Gabriel on its top holding St. Stephen’s Crown.
According to the story, Gabriel appeared to St. Stephen in his dream and offered him the crown of Hungary.
Pope Sylvester II indeed sent a crown to him acknowledging Hungary and King Stephen as a defender of Christendom.
Today you can view the Holy Crown in Budapest Parliament.
The equestrian statues of the seven Magyar (Hungarian) tribes’ chieftains encircle the column.
The seven tribes lead by Árpád arrived first in the Carpathian Basin around 896 AD to find out whether the area was suitable for settling down.
A semicircled colonnade encompasses the column with statues of Hungarian kings and heroes.
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