Statue Tour of the Cityn

Sculpture Tour in the City

Statue of György Festetics

Some have been honored with the privilege of having two statues in the beautiful city center of Keszthely. The Statue of György Festetics can be found in the city center of Keszthely, in front of the 250-year-old Vajda János Gymnasium, on the Main Square. The work of art by sculptor Ferenc Farkas was inaugurated in 2005 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Count’s birth. The circular square and the pedestal are also an integral part of the composition. The bronze statue depicting the Count in a period-appropriate costume in a sitting position quickly became a favorite of the city and tourists.

Statue of György Festetics in the Castle Park

The other Festetics statue greets us at the entrance of the castle building. The artwork made by Lajos Lukácsy has quite an adventurous story. It was inaugurated in 1902 on the Main Square, and after the Second World War, its pedestal was unfortunately destroyed, so for safety reasons, the intact parts of the statue were transported to the storage of the Balaton Museum. According to the ideology of the time, a Soviet heroic memorial was placed in its place, which was demolished in 1956, and at the same time the Festetics statue was returned to its original place on the Main Square, but only until the suppression of the revolution. It was moved to the Festetics Castle Park in 1967.

Trinity Statue

In the western part of the Main Square is located the oldest public artwork of the city center, the Baroque style Trinity Statue erected by Pál Festetics in 1770. Upon closer inspection, we can discover the statues of Saint Florian, Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch, and a small angel on the triangular pedestal. From here rises the high Corinthian column, on the top of which the Trinity statue group is visible.

An interesting factThey prayed to Saint Roch for hope of healing from the plague, to Saint Sebastian for other epidemics, and to Saint Florian for floods and fires, each said a prayer.

The artwork was returned to its original place with the renewal of the city center. At one time it was even in front of the Balaton Theater.

Statue of Sissi

The statue of Sissi, inaugurated in 2014, depicting Empress Elisabeth and her beloved dog, is popular among tourists. The artwork can be found between the buildings of the Wave and Balaton Hotel coming from the Balaton shore towards the city centre.

Well House

On the Main Square there is a pyramid-shaped building, which bears the name Well House. Underneath we see a boy holding a fish, which praises the work of Katalin Kalmár.  The sculpture “The Fish Boy” was made on the model of the small sculpture of Gyula Mikus painter.

Statue of Kolos Vaszary

Kolos Vaszary, born in Keszthely, was the abbot of Pannonhalma, cardinal-prince primate and archbishop of Esztergom. As we can see, he reached a high position on the “ladder” of the Church, and he is also associated with many “achievements”: he devoted great attention to the development of education, established new girls’ schools, restored churches, made it possible to establish a public hospital, and he consecrated the Maria Valeria bridge connecting Esztergom and Párkány. He did not forget his hometown of Keszthely, and supported the poor and the students of the main gymnasium by establishing a foundation. His scientific work is also noteworthy, in addition to publishing various biographies and textbooks, he published independent books. The statue is located on the Main Square in Keszthely, created by Ferenc Farkas, sculptor.

Statue of Júlia Szendrey

A statue of Júlia Szendrey can be found in a less prominent place, on the outskirts of the city, in the Szendrey-telep. It was placed in front of the memorial house in 2009, before that it was located in the garden of the school named after her.