Sky-reaching monument a tribute to Hungarian freedom fighters
Posted July 6, 2016 2:46 pm.
Last Updated July 6, 2016 2:57 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
What is that?: Toronto sculptures explained is a new series looking at a different sculpture in the city every week. Have you seen a piece of public art in your daily commute and wondered what it was about? Me too … so I’ve decided that I’d learn a little bit more about my own city and share it with you.
Freedom for Hungary | Budapest Park, 1757 Lake Shore Blvd. W., west of Bathurst Street
Walking home from Sunnyside Pool the other day, I bumped into some sharp pieces of steel rising into the sky.
The pieces make up a monument dedicated to the Hungarian uprising of 1956 against Hungary’s communist regime.
The sculpture was put up near the lake in Budapest Park in 1966, a decade after the uprising.
A plaque sits at the bottom of the sculpture and reads “Freedom for Hungary — Freedom for All.”
The monument was designed by Victor Tolgesy. The longest piece pointing upwards is almost four metres high, according to the book Creating Memory: A Guide to Outdoor Public Sculpture in Toronto.
Another plaque reads “In remembrance of the Hungarian Freedom Fight, October 23, 1956, where men, women and children gave their lives in the heroic struggle against the invading Soviet Army. This day marks the beginning of the downfall of communism worldwide.”
Two totem poles sit in front of the monumnent. A plaque explains that these structures were erected in 2008 by the Canadian Rakoczi Foundation.
