In Budapest, in the 5th district, at the intersection of Báthory and Hold Streets, the Batthyány Perpetual Lighthouse stands on a small square now demarcated by decorative paving – many people remember, however, that not so long ago this square was an overcrowded car park, which not only made it difficult to access the Perpetual Lighthouse, but also due respect.

The monument was named after Count Lajos Batthyány, the first prime minister of Hungary, who was executed at this place on October 6, 1849. At that time, the infamous barracks called the New Building stood on the nearby Szabadság square, which was built by II. Built by József, it was also used as a prison, so it cast a shadow over Pest’s inner city as a depressing symbol of Austrian absolutism for a significant part of the 19th century. The public execution place was set up in the closed courtyard of the Újépélet, where Batthyány took his life with a rifle bullet.

The function of the building’s barracks ceased with the agreement, and it was also demolished in the 1890s, thus giving birth to the image of the neighborhood as it is known today, with the buildings around Szabadság tér and the public spaces connecting them. Even then, it was suggested that a worthy memorial should be set up for the Prime Minister. In order to create this, in 1905, the Society of Engineers and Architects put out a call for designs for a perpetual candlestick design, which was unusual at the time, as this type of monument was not common apart from religious perpetual candlesticks (in Catholic churches, the presence of a lamp of Christ burning on a permanent tender next to the tabernacle, i.e. the altar ) symbolizes).

The tender was won by Móricz Pogány’s design: in the upper part of an obelisk bursting into the sky, instead of the metal lattice with a lily pattern symbolizing the innocence of the executed prime minister, the perpetual mosque was replaced, while “at the corners of the obelisk, the architect designed four caryatids, female figures with veiled faces, who will represent the nation and posterity Batthyány they symbolize his sadness and pain due to his violent martyrdom”. The model of the monument was erected in 1909, but many modifications were requested, and finally the outbreak of the First World War put the construction to the test.

The perpetual candlestick could only be erected after the war and revolutions, in 1926: taking into account the limited financial possibilities of the capital monuments commission, Pogány created a new design, which became a classicizing style bronze lamp standing on a simple pedestal, the ruby-colored glass chalice lit by an electric burner can be seen through its four doors – it is by no means a monumental place, but a memorial with a much more intimate atmosphere. The following inscriptions were placed on the four sides of its plinth: in memory of Count Lajos Batthyány; Hungary’s first responsible prime minister was martyred here; October 6, 1849, erected by the audience of Budapest Székesfőváros in 1926.

The perpetual candlestick was inaugurated on October 6, 1926 by Governor Miklós Horthy, Kúnó Klebelsberg representing the government, Batthyány’s son Elemér Batthyány and his grandson László Batthyány, representatives of the legislature and the capital’s delegation, the army, political and cultural life and the last living veteran of the 48th National Guard, István Lebó, participated. According to contemporaneous sources, even the opening did not win the favor of all political groups, and after the official state celebration, delegates from the National Independence Kossuth Party appeared, according to whom “the Pharisees are making a pilgrimage to Batthyány’s monument here and to Kossuth’s grave, but in spirit they are preparing to return the Habsburgs” – readable In Aladár Urbán’s study.

In addition to the martyred prime minister, more than two dozen people were sentenced and executed at the walls of the New Building between July 1849 and January 1850 for their role in the freedom struggle. Between 1849 and 1855, the Pest court martial, based in the building, prosecuted thousands of people for political reasons. Erökmécs is thus not only a memorial to the executed Lajos Batthyány, but also to the victims of dynastic retaliation driven by dynastic interests following the 1848-49 War of Independence, and through the democratically elected government of 1848, it became a symbol of freedom and independence. An anti-fascist demonstration was held here as early as 1941, and in the last years of Kádárism, it was a regular scene of the March 15 opposition demonstrations. Since the 1990s, it has been the site of the official ceremony commemorating the Arad Castle Martyrs.