Heroes' Square

The square was laid out for the millennium celebrations of 1896 and the monument at its centre took until 1929 to finish. Albert Schickedanz designed it as a single composition: a column carrying the Archangel Gabriel, the mounted figures of the seven Magyar chieftains grouped at its base, and two curved colonnades behind holding statues of kings and princes with reliefs beneath them. Museums close the square on both sides, the Museum of Fine Arts on the left and the exhibition hall of the Mucsarnok on the right, and City Park opens out behind. It is included in the UNESCO listing that covers Andrassy Avenue and its underground railway.

The main sights

• The Gabriel column - the winged figure on a slim column at the centre.
• The seven chieftains - the mounted bronze group at the column's base.
• The colonnades - the curved wings of statues and reliefs behind.
• The M1 line - the 1896 underground railway running beneath the avenue.

When to go

Early morning or the hour before sunset, when the low sun lights the colonnade and the square is not a sheet of glare. Summer middays are punishing on the open stone. Occasional public events close it off entirely for a day or two at a time. It is floodlit at night and much quieter then, with the museums closed.

Practical notes

It is a large empty expanse of stone that takes ten minutes to look at and offers no shade whatsoever. Skaters and cyclists use it, souvenir sellers work the edges, and traffic runs around it, so it is noisier than photographs suggest. The monument reads better from a distance than up close. Treat it as the front door to the museums and City Park rather than a destination.

Nearby

The Museum of Fine Arts, the Mucsarnok and City Park are immediately around it.