Liberation Monument (Szabadság Szobor)
Budapest

The Liberation Monument, which is a 14m-high female figure holding the palm of victory, stands at the top of Gellért Hill. It was erected in 1947 to mark the liberation of the capital from the Germans in 1945 by Soviet troops.

One of the most persistent and telling anecdotes of Budapest related how the female figure of the Liberation Monument was, ironically, originally intended as a monument to Regent Miklós Horthy's son, István, who was killed in a plane crash in 1942 on the Russian front. The Soviets, so the story goes, discovered the statue in the sculptor's workshop and requisitioned it for its present function. However, the original Horthy memorial, although bearing similarities, was different from the Liberation Monument.

Following the political changes of 1989-90 there was much argument as to whether the statue should be removed and about whether the events of 1944-45 were a "liberation" or "occupation" by the Soviets. The city council decided to leave the monument standing, but removed the figure of a Soviet soldier (still seen on the picture above) which had stood below the main statue.