Photo Essay: Capitalist Payback: Budapest's Statue Park

After the fall of communism in Hungary local entrepreneurs, faced with disposing of the monumental statues that symbolized the oppression and soviet dominance they had suffered under, displayed characteristic Hungarian creativity and humor: Rather than destroying them, they pimped them out on the streets to make a buck. Irony as sweet revenge! The result is Statue Park, or Szobor Park, where a few dozen soviet-era statues work off the communist debt to the Hungarian people by earning income from curious tourists.

Lenin figures prominently in the statuary, as do Hungarian communist leaders. And of course many of these monuments glorify the socialist worker, and his internationalist bond with the friendly Russian comrade soldier. I visited in June, and highly recommend the place. I was pleasantly surprised that, despite being mentioned in every guide and promoted at every agency, I had the park virtually to myself. Also, that while the promotional leaflets look very slick indeed, the place itself has a "mom and pop", somewhat amateurish feel that enhances its surreal quality - for instance with statues still wrapped for delivery or removal (“Sphinx”). And some of these pieces are actually remarkable artworks, in particular the "Charge of the Proletariat" (my title) which figures in three of my shots.

The park is open every day from 10 o’clock in the morning until sunset. Be prepared, it's pretty far from the center of Budapest. There is a tourist bus, but its disadvantage of course is that you have to go - and more importantly leave - on its schedule, which only allows you an hour or so at the park, and not with the best light. The better alternative (unless you drive, which, inside Budapest, can be a harrowing experience) is public transportation. It is plentiful, clean and fast, but can be a bit confusing. You have to first get to Etele ter, a major public transportation junction, for which I recommend the tram rather than the bus. Then from Etele ter, you’ll take one of the out-of-town yellow Volan buses which has a stop right in front of the Park. To get back into Budapest just reverse - the Volan buses come by approximately every half hour, and the trams from Etele ter are every few minutes.