A Memento in Budapest

By Linda Tancs

American writer and activist Maya Angelou observed that “history, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” Perhaps that thought best sums up the motivation behind Memento Park in Budapest, Hungary, a statue park paying lasting tribute to the biggest actors of the Cold War and their influencers. It houses 42 massive statues and monuments removed from Budapest after the fall of communism, including the likes of Stalin, Lenin, Marx, Engels and Red Army soldiers. Getting there can be challenging (requiring a combination of metro and bus travel) unless you’re able to take the direct bus at 11:00 a.m. from Deak Square.