Hungarian Online Resources

est. 1993 by UMCP Hungarian American Student Association

Current activities

Current activities

New York NY : Riverside Drive (corner 113th st) Louis
Kossuth Statue and Plaza renovation project.

Managed by the Riverside Park Fund, it is to recondition the 69 year old statuary and the
surrounding plaza. It is the site of the annual March 15 ceremony by the
New York City area Hungarian community and an
oft-visited attraction by Hungarian and Hungarian-American visitors.

The Riverside Park Fund states is goal as to
rehabilitate the island between 110th and 113th streets on Riverside Drive
where the Kossuth statue is situated; restoring the statue and plaza,
replant grass, replace benches, repair stairways and railings and
rehabilitate the island’s other major statue of former New York Governor and
Presidential Candidate Samuel J.Tilden.

Total cost: US $400,000. Riverside
Park Fund is committed to raising US $50,000 of that amount in private funds;
in response to that pledge, the New York City Council just recently has
allocated US $350,000, arranged by Council Member C.Virginia Fields. We now
have about US $383,000 of the $400,000 needed (dated June 30, 1997).”

Contributions are “tax deductible” (depends on filing status) and should be
sent to:

Riverside Park Fund, Kossuth Project, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 249, New York NY 10115,
(Tel.: (212)-870-3070)

There is a New York area Hungarian task force assisting the
project. Coordinator: Mrs. Barbara Bollok, Tel.: (212)-535-3681, fax: (212)-734-6790

Click here for the current commemoration of the Hungarian Liberation Fight of 1848.



Are Kossuth statues relics of earlier years ?

[Kossuth in Kutahya]
[Kossuth in Kutahya]

Not quite. Magyar Rádió
reported the unveiling of a new Kossuth statue in Kütahya, Turkey, on March 21 1997, on the site of
his 1850-51 home in exile.
What is the background, the explanation ? Why would Turkey be interested in honouring Kossuth ?

The story goes back to the Turkish Sultan Suleyman I. Also known as the Magnificent and
The Lawgiver, he is a historic hero of Turkey, which is partly due to
his conquering the Balkans, Egypt, island of Rhodes, etc. But also because of his love
of the arts and culture. In Hungary, he and the Ottoman Empire were noted as
invaders, disrespectful of human life and property. He was killed in battle
during the siege of the Hungarian fort of Szigetvár, on September 5-6, 1566. The
defenders were led by Miklós Zrínyi, a hero of his time.

[Plaque]
The plaque on the statue
Inscription on the plaque
Turkish original English translation Hungarian translation
LAJOS KOSSUTH
1802-1894
MAÇAR MILLIKAMRAMANI
KÜTAHYA’NIN
UNUTULMAZ KONUGU		 LAJOS KOSSUTH
1802-1894
HUNGARIAN NATIONAL HERO
UNFORGETTABLE GUEST OF KÜTAHYA		 KOSSUTH LAJOS
1802-1894
MAGYAR NEMZETI HŐS
KÜTAHYA FELEJTHETETLEN VENDÉGE

Turkey, in an effort to honour Suleyman’s memory while advocating friendship
with Hungary, asked for permission to erect a monument in Szigetvár
commemorating Suleyman I. After much debate and many objections, the request
was granted, indeed an honorary Turkish consulate opened in the town. In
gratitude the Turkish government erected a Kossuth statue in the garden of
the house he bought and occupied 147 years ago. Representing Hungary at the
dedication was Bálint Magyar, Minister of Culture.

[Kossuth in Kutahya]
[Kossuth in Kutahya]

The statue is the work of Turkish sculptor Sait Rüstem.

Dimensions : (heights) :

  • subbase: 30 cm (11.8″)

  • base: 2.5 meters (8.2 ‘)

  • figure: 3.2 meters (10.5 ‘)

    • It is located in the courtyard of the house where Kossuth and family stayed in 1850-51. Now, the building is a museum in the care of Turkey’s Hungarian community.

    The pictures and information courtesy Dr. György Kéry, Hungary’s ambassador to Turkey, 1997.

    Credit is also given to Ismet Gural, honorary Hungarian consul in Kütahya.

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