A Hajdú-Bihar Megyei Levéltár évkönyve 26. 1999 (Debrecen, 1999)

Forrásközlés - Mónus Imre: A hajdúnánási Kossuth szobor története

lived then in exile, he was addressed “Father Kossuth”, his human greatness and deeds were never forgotten. In 1899 he was elected honorary citizen of the town, in 1892, when Kossuth’s 90th birthday was celebrated, the central square of the town was named Kossuth Square, and Kossuth was greeted in a telegram sent to Turin.

When the one hundredth anniversary of Kossuth’s birth came, a brochure was published by the town with the title: “Erect a statue for Kossuth”. A committee was elected to organise the erection of the statue, the chairman was László Csohány, the mayor, the co-chairman Viktor Rákosi, MP for the town.

Assigned to the task of creating the statue was János Horvai, who, in the opinion of art historian Károly Lyka, was a “Kossuth- statue specialist” for he made Kossuth statues for 12 settlements between 1902 and 1908.

The expenses of the statue were collected by the town’s authorities with grants from the population. Everybody tried to contribute according to their financial capabilities. János Horvai charged 10,000 Crowns for his work.

October 2nd 1904, the unveiling of the statue was an outstanding holiday for the town. The inhabitants taking interest in the well- organised event participated by the thousand. The inauguration speech was delivered by Viktor Rákosi; Lajos Kossuth’s son, Ferenc Kossuth was also among the participants. János Horvai’s work won the satisfaction of the population, it is one of the most beautiful Kossuth statues in Hungary and was soon accepted to be the emblem of the town.

Hajdú-Bihar Megyei Levéltár Évkönyve XXVI 297