Stalin's Grandstand

The Grandstand is a 1:1 replica of the tribune serving as the pedestal for the 8-meter-tall bronze statue of Soviet party secretary, head of state and general, Stalin. The crowd revolting against communist oppression sawed the statue at its knees and pulled it down on the 23rd of October, 1956. The General's boots, however, remained on the pedestal to be a sarcastic reminder of the dictator.

The Grandstand was once located on "Felvonulási tér" in central Budapest, where parades were held on Communist holidays. Communist leaders would stand on the Grandstand at Stalin's feet, waving at marching crowds that were forced to cheer them and celebrate.

"In 1956, the drama of events were unfolding quickly: the morning of October 23 was quiet but by the evening the revolution's fire "was blazing with flames". There must have been a point, a moment in time when the revolution was born. The Stalin Grandstand and The Boots on the two sides of Witness Square serve to commemorate that moment: ...Stalin's Grandstand being an architectural memento and an eternally significant shrine of the megalomania that characterized dictatorship, and The Boots - being more than a torso, a monument in itself - the world-renowned symbol of people's longing for freedom." (Ákos Eleőd, conceptual designer of Memento Park)