Budapest’s Emblematic Statue, Archangel Gabriel, Leaves Heroes’ Square

For the first time in over 120 years, one of Hungary’s emblematic symbols, the Archangel Gabriel statue, has been removed and restored in Heroes’ Square, the government’s Facebook page says. 

Earlier, the National Heritage Institute said that the bronze statue, about 5 meters high, has deteriorated drastically over the past decades,

with only aesthetic interventions having been carried out during previous renovations, making a complete renovation inevitable.

The Millennium Monument and the Archangel Gabriel statue, created by sculptor György Zala and unveiled on October 24, 1901, are iconic symbols of Hungary and a popular tourist attractions.

In the first phase of the works, a scaffolding system was built around the 36-meter-high Corinthian column, reports Világgazdaság. This allowed the statue to be lifted and transported to a restoration workshop where it will be restored to its original state in 6-12 months, depending on the assessment of the situation after the internal condition has been revealed.

In December 2023, a detailed assessment of the state of the statue was carried out, leading to a plan for the restoration of the statue.

The sculpture was dismantled in several pieces and removed by a heavy-duty crane truck: the figure of the Archangel Gabriel was removed with the upper half of the sphere, while the Holy Crown and the double cross were removed from the hands of the statue on site. The Corinthian pedestal was then removed. The statue elements were transported by road, laid flat, on a special tractor-trailer to the site of the detailed survey.

The bronze spherical concrete core of the sculpture, weighing at least 0.5-1 ton, acts as a counterweight to the wind pressure on the wings. The sculpture is made of bronze castings with a wall thickness of 3-6 millimeters and is internally stabilized by an iron structure due to the wind load and the size of the wings. The primary concern of the works is to protect the sculpture’s plastic parts, and to preserve the integrity of the figural part.

The Corinthian pedestal is made up of around 100 separate elements.

Since the elements are reflection symmetrical, the highlighted pieces must be uniquely identified during dismantling and a convention map drawn up based on the numbering.

All elements should be marked by engraving in a hidden area before dismantling to avoid interchanging similar elements.

Via Világgazdaság; Featured image via Pixabay