page_title: Fisherman's Bastion
section_title: The statue of St. Stephen and the southern yard
hierarchical_section_title: Fisherman's Bastion / Architecture / The statue of St. Stephen and the southern yard
caption_attribution_description: A monument to Saint Stephen I in Budapest, Hungary
context_page_description: The Halászbástya or Fisherman's Bastion is one of the best known monuments in Budapest, located in the Buda Castle, in the 1st district of Budapest. It is one of the most important tourist attractions due to the unique panorama of Budapest from the Neo-Romanesque lookout terraces. The Fishermen's Bastion's main façade, parallel to the Danube, is approximately 140 meters long, of which the southern aisle is about 40 meters long, the north is 65 meters long, and the ornate central parapet is 35 meters long. Its seven high-pitched stone towers symbolize the seven chieftains of the Hungarians who founded Hungary in 895.
  It was built between 1895 and 1902, in Neo-Romanesque style, on the base of a stretch of the Buda Castle walls, by architect Frigyes Schulek, who was also responsible for the restoration of the Matthias Church. Several historians say that in the Middle Ages this part of the castle walls was protected by the guild of fishermen, who lived under the walls in the so-called Fishtown. Since 1987 it has been part of Budapest's World Heritage Sites as part of the Várkerület District.
context_section_description: The third large unit of the monument complex is the southern bastion court and its associated founder, it is initially made by the Stephen I of Hungary, the first king of Hungary.
  Schulek's original idea was to have a covered dome around the statue of St. Stephen, but for budgetary reasons a free-standing statue was placed in the middle of the southern courtyard enclosed by corridors on three sides. He asked the sculptor Alajos Stróbl, to make the statue, who started in 1896 and completed in 1906. After the statue was placed, its solemn was unveiled on 21 May 1906. On the morning of the inauguration, dr. Antal Nemes, the papal prelate and parish priest of Buda-Pest, then, after the mass, everyone withdrew around the statue and the veil fell under Alajos Stróbl's admonition.
  The high priest toured the statue and consecrated it. The shroud was then returned. Three-quarters of government members once appeared: Sándor Wekerle, Count Albert Apponyi, Ignác Darányi, Count János Zichy and Lajos Jekelfalussy. Finally, at one o'clock, the king himself arrived at the bell-ringing and the official ceremony began.
  For the statue of Stróbl, Schulek designed the Neo-Romanesque foundation, and around it was an oval-shaped, pierced stone and parapet railing, placed in the geometric center of the southern bastion court. The foundation structure is decorated with reliefs originally used for murals designed for the walls of the hall, which commemorate a prominent moment of King Stephen's reign: the coronation scene, the introduction of the legislative act, the depiction of Vienna and the Austria-Hungary dualism, while on the back and east we see a series of scenes symbolizing the temple construction, where Stróbl depicted the aging Schulek master as the bearded, kneeling, model of King Stephen in the form of a master builder.
  Above the relief is a richly decorated ledge, with gold medallions on its sides, agnus dei, evangelist badges and double-cross reliefs. The ledge of the upper member of the foundation is supported by six solid, ornate columns of beams on which the bronze statue of the king is placed.
  Originally intended to replace the northern tower group, the Seven Leadership Sculpture Group, which was lifted out of the plan on the fly, was implemented with modifications and major changes to today's Heroes' Square.
caption: Statue of Stephen I of Hungary by Alajos Stróbl
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