Prohászka László: Polish Monuments - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2001)
ised in 1192, was born in Polish territory while his father Béla I was living there in exile. His mother, Countess Rycheza of the House of Piast, being Polish, Ladislas learnt to speak Polish before he learnt to speak Hungarian. (For the Poles living in Hungary 27 June, the day of Ladislas, has been a national holiday since 1996.) Hungary had a Polish Queen in the person of Elisabeth Eokietek, the wife of king Robert Charles. Her son, King Louis the Great of the House of Anjou, was the first Hungarian king to acquire the Polish crown as well. In the 15th century the Polish king Wladislas of the House of Jagelló, became Hungarian king. Wladislas 11, of the same dynasty, and his son Louis II were crowned Czech and Hungarian kings, and István Báthory, prince of Transylvania was chosen to be king of Poland in 1575. Polish and Hungarian historiography sometimes reveal divergent judgements on the same kings. Louis the Great is not ranked among the greatest kings of Polish history by Polish historians, while Wladislas II was nicknamed ‘Dobze László’ by his Hungarian contemporaries for his hesitant, all-approving style of ruling. In contrast, Wladislas and Louis II are still remembered in Hungary for sacrificing their lives for the country. Some of these rulers are commemorated by statues in the Hungarian capital. A full-length upright statue (by Ferenc Vasadi) of Saint Ladislas (1046-95) can be seen on the fagade of the Houses of Parliament which overlooks the Danube, and there is another in the domed hall of the same building (sculpted by József Róna). The stone statue of Saint Ladislas in the park near the devotional church of Máriaremete was erected in 1938. Sculpted by Lajos Krasznai, the work stays within the stylistic confines of the neo-Baroque tradition of contemporary church art. The king is portrayed resting his left hand on a huge shield decorated by the coat-of-arms of the Árpád House. The right hand, which was probably holding the king’s famous weapon, the battle axe, is missing. Decorated with Gothic motifs, the base features the following inscription: Saint 6
