Prohászka László: Equestrian Statues - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1997)

The Hunyadi statue in the Városliget

But to return from the world of Greek legend to the past of Hungary. It seemed for a long time after 1945 that besides genre compositions meant to enliven the world of housing estates and sporting horses there would be no equestrian statues of a historical theme erected in Budapest in this century. But then there was an exception, even if it was a copy and a scaled down copy at that. Pál Pátzay’s monumental statue of János Hunyadi (c. 1407-1456) had been erected in 1956 at Széchenyi tér in Pécs to commemorate the fifth centenary of the victory over the Turks in the battle of Nándorfehérvár. The larger-than-life-size bronze equestrian statue presents the scourge of the Turks as an awe-inspiring general at the peak of his power. The male figure is clad in heavy armour and bestrides a massive steed progressing at a steady pace. On his side is a heavy broadsword, and his outstretched right hand points ahead with the commander’s mace in it. He wears the long spurs characteristic of the period, enabling the rider to

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