Kossuth statue

In 1901, the body of representatives of Sátoraljaújhely suggested that the statue be erected on the market square at the centenary of Lajos Kossuth’s birthday. The 2 metres tall bronze statue standing on a three meters high artificial stone pedestal was constructed by the sculptor Aladár Gárdos. The town commemorated its son in an a dignified way. It not only become one of the more than 100 Kossuth statues erected in Hungary, the mentality of the era was also evoked through the auxiliary figures: the landtaking valiant warrior and the peasant standing up next to the beam of the plough. Kossuth’s bond to Sátoraljaújhely is maintained by the words carved on the side of the pedestal - excerpts of his letter written in Turin in 1890: “I was born in Monok...but the first memories of my life bound me to Újhely, with the sweetness of the affection for the homeland. Újhely was the cradle of my childhood... And what is the mother’s nest for the nestling while making its first clumsy attempts to fly, that was Újhely for me... And I’m proud to call myself a Hungarian man of Újhely.” The statue was unveiled on 18th May 1911, the costs were collected with great enthusiasm from public donations.