Matthias Fountain – Budapest, Hungary
I hid in the west The monumental Matthias Fountain is located in front of the Puda Fortress. The neo-baroque fountain shows a hunting company led by Hungarian King Matthias Corvin. A bronze figure wearing a crossbow with a hunting tool on top of a rock. Legend has it that in 1896 it evolved into a model of a real animal killed by poachers.
Below the fountain, one member of the king’s hunting company sits behind the horn and another sits behind the public. The fountain depicts three hunting dogs modeled on the prince Polfi.
The female figure of the fountain is Ilonka Szep, a beautiful young woman who is said to have met her on a hunting trip disguised as a common man. He fell in love, and when he discovers his true identity, he dies with a broken heart, realizing that his love is forever impossible. Sitting on one side of the hunting company, Ilonka Szep watches the king in nostalgia. They are also shown to protect their humble cub from a predatory feast.
On the other side of the fountain is the Italian historian Caliotto Marcio, who wrote about his life with the king.
The fountain was designed in the neo-baroque style by Alagos Stroeff, and work on the fountain began in 1899, with the approval of King Francis Joseph. It opened in 1904. This fountain is sometimes referred to as the “Trevi Fountain of Budapest” because its layout is similar to the Trevi system (albeit on a much smaller scale).