The grandstand is a 1:1 replica of the tribune once located on Felvonulási tér in central Budapest. This where the communist leaders would stand, waving at marching crowds that were “happily celebrating” down below.
The tribune also served as the pedestal for the 8-meter bronze statue of Soviet party secretary Stalin. That is until the crowd revolting against communist oppression pulled down the statue on the original grandstand on the 23rd of October 1956. Stalin’s boots, however, remained on the pedestal until the revolution was put down. For a while, when it seemed that the revolution offered real hope, the boots stood as a symbol of this hope.
For those not familiar with the events of 1956, it began as a student demonstration and attracted many thousands of people as it marched though Budapest. A delegation tried to enter the radio building to have its demands read on air, but they were detained and soon shots were fired against the demonstrators who were demanding their release outside. As the news of this spread, so did the violence and it became a full scale revolution against the system, with people seizing control of municipal councils, battling with the Communists in the street and eventually formally disbanding the government. However, this change only lasted until November 4th when the Soviets, after initially declaring their intention to withdraw from the country, wrestled back control supported by large scale reinforcements. Fighting didn’t last long and the revolution was soon put down.
Climb up to the top of the tribune and put yourself in Stalin’s boots, looking down at the cheering crowd below. Try to imagine what it would be like to be a dictator with crowds of people waving and singing your praises as you gazed back. Atop the tribune you can also get a good view of the statues next door, the enormity of both a paradoxical clash with the eventual fragility of the system. It’s big and it’s ugly, though this didn’t seem to bother those who were commissioning or building structures at the time.
One might question the idea behind building something so unattractive and bitterly remembered, but having the grandstand fits in with the concept of the park. As well as preserving the historical artifacts of the period, Memento Park also aims to give younger generations and foreigners an idea about how living in such a period might have been, thus we don’t forget the horrors of the past.