Goodbye Lenin (Statue Park)

Member Name: fizzywizzy

Product:	Statue Park
Date:	25/04/06 (282 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Unusual, quirky, good value for money

Disadvantages: Lack of info about exhibits

Perched atop a hill in South Buda, the “Statue Park” of Budapest is a small reminder of Hungary’s recent past. With the collapse of the Soviet Empire the statues and sculptures dedicated to the Communist leaders and the memorials to the “workers” or the “Communist Martyrs” disappeared from the streets of Hungary; most were hidden away in dark warehouses where they were forgotten for a while until some bright individual had the idea of pulling them back out and displaying them in one place. After a competition to choose an architect/designer, a design was chosen for an outdoor park that opened officially in 1993. The park has remained largely unchanged since it opened.

We traveled out to the park from the city centre – two buses but easy to negotiate – a journey time of about 25 minutes in total. You should ask the driver to tell you which stop to get off at because the Statue Park appears from nowhere and it’s easy to miss. A quick look at the website, though, mentions that due to road-works during 2006 it’s more difficult to get the park by public transport. Luckily, though, they have provided a bus from Deak Square in the heart of Budapest that takes you to the door (daily 11.00a.m.); the 10 Euro charge includes your entrance fee to the Statue Park

The actual entrance fee is 600 Hungarian Forints which is roughly £1.58. However, we bought a two-day Budapest Card which not only gave us free entrance but free travel too. This makes the 10 Euro charge look a bit steep; there is a discount for Budapest card holders and this reduces the price to £5.14 – still more than nothing!

A high brick wall encases the Park and is an intrinsic part of the design of the site; two statues are displayed on plinths that have been built into the wall and stand either side of the small entrance gate – an impressive entrance. There are no cloakroom facilities as such but the friendly ladies who work the gate and the souvenir shop will probably be kind enough to watch large items.

We arrived quite early and the park had only just opened; we were the day’s first visitors and had the park to ourselves for almost twenty minutes before anyone else joined us. Therefore we got quite a surprise when the music was switched on and the Russian anthem was played through the loud speakers. This was followed by other “red standards” and somber marching music – a nice touch.

The statues are arranged in an approximate circle around an attractive “red star” flower bed. Gravel tracks link each exhibit. It’s easy to walk on and later I saw people with push- chairs who did not appear to be having any problems negotiating the terrain which is flat.

The exhibits themselves are an eclectic mix of sombre portraits of people like Lenin, Marx and Ostapenko along with some symbolic pieces dedicated grandly to “The Communist Martyrs” or “The Workers” – my favourite piece among them was the memorial to “Bela Kun” – strikingly different from the others in being almost tin-like in appearance, one in which you see something new each time you look at it and one which must be walked around several times.

Sadly, there is a distinct lack of information about the pieces and this would greatly enhance the experience. While I could immediately recognize figures like Marx and Lenin, I would have liked to have learnt more about the statues of the Hungarian Communist leaders and about the reasons and symbolism behind the “tableaux” pieces.

You can spend as little or as much time in the Park as you wish but with around 40 exhibits I’d say about forty-five minutes to an hour is more than enough – unless you are fanatical about retired Communist statues!

Once you’ve walked the circuit all that’s left is the small souvenir stand – hardly a shop, more a hatch with a window in which the smaller items are on display, the bigger items are displayed on trestle tables outside the entrance building and t-shirts hang from the walls outside. Here you can buy all kinds of kitsch Soviet/Communist souvenirs – miniature Trabants, Trabant t-shirts, Cossack-style hats bearing the Red star badge, CDs of Communist marching music, Che Guevara memorabilia (is there ANYWHERE you can’t buy that stuff?) and a small selection of postcards of some of the most prominent exhibits in the Statue Park.

What I like about the museum is that it is simply a display of the statues that were taken from the streets; there are no recriminations, no blame for any suffering that may have been associated with the country’s Communist past. Nor is this an attempt to create something humorous or kitsch, poking fun at the past. There are some interesting points made on the website which talk about the need to treat the subject with sensitivity in order that those whose families may have suffered would not take offence at the project. However, I must admit that some of the items for sale as souvenirs do not maintain those intentions. I would have deemed it acceptable to sell Trabant related items – that design being an icon of the era and of the location – but the inclusion of Che Guevara items is a little more contentious and unnecessary and give the impression of “jumping on the red bandwagon”.

If you do have a Budapest Card and can make your way to the Park under your own steam, this is very good value. In comparison to other attractions in the city this is good but not excellent given the time it takes to get there and the time you'll actually spend there. It's interesting enough but unlikely to appeal to children and it's impact is reduced due to the lack of captions. Personally, I loved it; it is just the kind of unusual thing that sparks my interest.

There is no café but you can buy bottled of soft drinks, chocolate and crisps from the ticket office. There are public toilets with wheelchair access.

The Statue Park is open daily from 10.00 a.m. until sunset.
www.szopark.hu

Corner of Balaton ul & Szabadka utca
District 22
South Buda

Tel – 36 (1) 4247500

Budapest Card can be bought all over the city including Tourist Information offices, train stations and some underground stations

48 Hours - £13.69
72 Hours - £17.12

Prices converted so only approximate

Summary: An hours worth of musical statues - one of Budapest's quirkier attractions