A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historica 4. (Szeged, 2001)

DÖMÖTÖR János: Egy szobor történetei. Pásztor János: I. világháborús hősi emlékmű

ban szedte darabokra a bronz lovast, majd a hibás részeket újra öntötte. A Délvilág november 25-i száma már arról tudósít, „Ismét helyén a huszár" c. írásában, hogy 23-án eredeti helyére visszatették a lovast. így remény van arra, hogy ismét, hosszú időn át fogja majd őrizni Pásztor János alkotása az első világháborús vásárhelyi hősi halottak emlékét. JÁNOS DÖMÖTÖR THE HISTORY OF A STATUE (FIRST WORLD WAR MEMORIAL BY JÁNOS PÁSZTOR) Towards the end of the First World War, at the suggestion of the Hungarian Government, Parliament obliged cities and towns to erect memorials to the victims of the war and the heroic dead, by its Act No. VIII of the year 1917. However, the Local Government of the town of Hódmezővásárhely rather took its time in fulfilling this obligation, because it was only in 1921 that a decision was made to allocate a sum from the annual budget to finance this memorial. Seven years later, in 1928, sculptor and artist János Pásztor was commissioned to prepare a plan for the memorial. After yet another seven years there was a change of plan, and it was decided to invite national applications to carry out this work. However, Mr. János Pásztor did not wish to participate in these applications, and the Local Government finally decided to remain with its original choice of commission. Of the three provisional plans prepared by János Pásztor, the Local Government accepted a design representing a cavalryman. A long dispute then took place concerning the location of the memorial. Finally in 1938, twenty years after the original Act had been passed, the memorial was erected in front of the Town Hall. The movement of the cavalryman, charging into attack with sword unsheathed, is dynamic and full of power and vitality. On its high pedestal, the memorial towers above its surroundings. At the behest of the commissioning party, the artillery and the infantry respectively are represented in relief on each side of the pedestal. Cracks appeared in the memorial in the year 2000, and both the structure and the bronze-work required renovation. In the November, following four months of restoration work, the statue was returned to its original location. János Pásztor (1881-1945) was an outstanding artist, who was appreciated for his work in Hungarian sculpture between the two world wars. His main works: the Rákóczi Statue, the Kazinczy Memorial (Budapest), Beethoven (Martonvásár), the Fisherman and the Ferryman (Balatonfüred) and the Najád'

s Well (Szeged).