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Madame Tussauds Budapest has been expanded with a scaled-down replica of one of the capital’s most frequently photographed landmarks, the local Liberty Statue.
The newest figure at Madame Tussauds weighs 200 kilograms and stands over two metres tall – although this time the artwork is not made of wax, but of bronze. A scaled-down replica of the Liberty Statue on Gellért Hill has been installed in the historic Hauszmann Hall. The impressive bronze sculpture, which closely resembles the original monument even in its finest details, is the work of sculptor Attila Rajcsók.
One of Budapest’s most photographed landmarks was envisioned by Zsigmond Kisfaludi Stróbl. The female figure holding a palm branch, together with its pedestal, stands 40 meters tall and was unveiled to the city in 1947. Kisfaludi spotted Erzsébet Gaál at a tram stop, approached the young woman, and told her that he had long been searching for a woman with an upright posture, a clear gaze, and harmonious proportions who could serve as the central figure of Hungary’s monument to freedom. Erzsébet posed for the sculptor for ten days. She never received any payment for her work; however, the following inscription appears on her gravestone in Sopron: “Here rests the model of the Liberty Statue.”
Originally erected as a monument to liberation, the statue gradually became a universal symbol of freedom and peace, which locals humorously nicknamed the “bottle opener.” An interesting fact is that in 1980, Bertalan Farkas took a miniature replica of the statue with him into outer space.
Following the unveiling of the sculpture, the staff of Madame Tussauds Budapest noticed a peculiar trend: both Hungarian and international visitors regard the statue as a kind of good-luck charm. Many people touch the palm leaf and make a wish for good fortune.
Madame Tussauds Budapest is not only about celebrities and wax figures – the capital’s iconic landmarks also appear as part of the experience. Visitors enter the attraction through the Danube Promenade, can walk through the Buda Castle Tunnel, encounter St. Stephen’s Basilica, and explore the world of the Gellért Baths, complete with original Zsolnay decorative elements.
