Between Controversy and Relaxation at the Liberty Square, in Budapest

One of the characteristics I liked about Budapest was the amount of public gardens available for people to relax and enjoy the day. It makes the city looks much prettier, when compared to some places like Paris, where you can walk for hours without finding the smallest public garden or just a bench to rest for a while.

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This time I bring you some photos taken at the Liberty Garden or Freedom Square (Szabadság Tér), in the center of Budapest.

The first thing that caught my attention was this set of sculptures, which pay a tribute to the difficulties of the Hungarian people during WWII.

This is a recent monument, installed just 5 years ago, and it's labeled German Occupation Memorial.

The inscription reads "A Német Megszállás Áldozatainak Emlékműve" which translates to "Memorial to the Victims of the German Invasion."

There is a big controversy around this monument, since some people accuse Hungary's Government of trying to rewrite History by portraying itself as a victim, when they were allied with the German and the Austrians during WWII.

On the other hand, the Government and the author of the sculpture, the Hungarian artist Peter Parkanyi Raab, claim that "the monument is intended to serve as a reconciliation between Jewish and non-Jewish Hungarians."

• For more information about this subject, please read the article Why Hungarians Don't Want a German Occupation Memorial by Marian Krueger.

Personally, I don't really care about the opinions of the people who complain about this monument, since they are the first ones to help Israel portrait itself as a victim and whitewash its 7 decades continuing genocide of the Palestinian people, thus rewriting History themselves. (If you don't like something, then stop doing the same to others before you even open your mouth.)

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Politics and controversy aside, I think the sculpture looks rather cool and I took a few close up shots.

I have to say this is a magnific work of art.

The passersby were quite intrigued about the written messages... but since they were all in Hungarian, I had no clue about what they said. I think these are protest messages against the monument, directed to the Government... but I'm only guessing, based on what I read on the above mentioned article.

In front of it there was an original water fountain, a source of amusement for both adults and children.

Yes, that little blue spot you see is the shirt of a kid... In the photo blow you can see his face between the water streams. 😂

Everyone liked this fountain... some people were running through it, others were taking photos.

This garden is divided in three clear and distinct parts... the first one is the area which includes the fountain and the memorial in the previous photos.

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The second and middle part of the garden is a huge lawn surrounded by benches, with a café in its center.

This coffee shop is very cosy and with lots of outdoor sitting places, perfect to enjoy a sunny day.

The café serves a double purpose... and as you can see below, it's camouflaging the entrance to an underground car parking lot, built below this garden.

The park was quite crowded and there were almost no free benches. Here's a small animation of a dog having fun, while playing fetch with its owners.

On the edge of the park, there were bicycles for hire.

This seems to be a rising trend in Europe... I hope the people adhere to these initiatives and start ditching their cars, at least for a few hours.

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The third and final section of this park includes a round square with the only remaining Soviet memorial in Budapest, a tribute to the Communist Soldiers who liberated Hungary from the Nazi control, at the end of WWII.

This obelisk is surrounded by huge buildings with amazing architecture and it's the source of attention of the tourists.

Here you can see a couple of friends taking photos with the obelisk in the background.

This monument is another major source of controversy in Hungary. Many people want it removed but since removing it will annoy the Russian Duma, the politicians prefer to leave it in place, despite what the public wishes.

• If you want to know more about this, I suggest you read the article Hungary’s Identity Crisis Fought in Concrete and Bronze by Cara Eckholm.

Next to the above obelisk, stands a memorial to the Count Lajos Batthyány de Németújvár, who was the first Prime Minister of Hungary, in the 19th Century.

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I hope you like reading this post and watching the photos. Please leave a comment, before you scroll down to the next article.

PS: I wanted to add some other tags such as #budapest, #europe and #travel. I hope witnesses reconsider this 5 tag limit with the HF21 fork.

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Camera	Panasonic Lumix DC-TZ90
Location	Budapest - Hungary
	Untouched Photos

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