The city as gallery
Atlas of Statues
Admire the sculptural art in the public space. You don’t even need to visit the gallery, just follow the traces left by the sculptors in the city. Exact coordinates will help you during your rambles. You will find the artworks in various parts of the city, in parks and housing estates.
The diversity of the public space of the whole territory of Košice is captured in the publication by Danka Bodnárová and Mišo Hudák – Atlas of Sculptures. It is an attempt to create a basic list of artworks of post-war art, the creation of which was accompanied by the rapid development of Košice caused by the construction of ironworks. It captures the artworks of more than fifty years of time span. Together they create a timeline for the development of the city and society. So go with the Atlas of the Sculptures in your hand to the gallery under the Košice sky with an area of 240 square kilometres, discover new ones in a familiar space, explore the messages of authors whose artworks live longer than they themselves. Some of them are sometimes demonstratively torn down or rediscovered in amazement after many years.
The Atlas of Sculptures has its own spatial distribution of the city into 9 parts. For each captured artwork it provides available information on the location, the author, title, and its origin.
Selection of statues
Peace Marathon Memorial
Peace Marathon Square, 48.72735856760963, 21.253833215771156
The academic sculptor Arpád Račko is the author of the author of the Peace Marathon Memorial – a three-metre-high statue of a naked runner made of bronze on a pedestal made of Požáry Granite. The monument is located on the Peace Marathon Square. The statue was unveiled in 1959. On the monument, there is the text of NENIKHKAMEN (gr. We won), which according to legend was the cry of an Athenian runner announcing the victory. As the author himself revealed, the statue was first made of plaster, but later it was cast in bronze and replaced “in silence”. London was also interested in such a sculpture, but the artist Račko (who loves Košice, having attended school here, had his first girlfriend here and experienced the most beautiful moments of his life in Košice) did not want to allow the same sculpture to be found elsewhere.
The Combing One
Park in front of the Polyclinic North, 48.732443970780565, 21.250527836075094
The Combing One – Ján Mathé is the author of the sculpture with an apt name. You will find it in the park in front of the Polyclinic North. Ján Mathé was born in Košice in 1922. His sculptures adorn the Košice housing estates from Mier (Resting Family on J. Mathé Square), through Terasa (Standing Family), to Jazero (The Fruit of Life, which today adorns the Barracks/Kulturpark). It is almost impossible to choose only one of the many artworks by this exceptional artist.
Pedestrian
Alžbetina Street, 48.72012154666538, 21.257001217300857
Pedestrian – Juraj Bartusz is the author of the statue. Július Jakoby or “Gyulabáči” himself told the author about this statue “Buddy, it is not a nice statue, but truthful.” And the author considers this to be the best assessment, because in his life he did not strive for any beauty, but for deep truth. He captured him truthfully. Walking through the city, in knickerbockers, with a breadbasket and a thoughtful look. You will find the statue on a walk along Alžbetina Street.
Stallion Ardo
Campus of the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Komenského Street GPS 73 48.73889479682004, 21.24627983260982
Stallion Ardo – the bronze horse Ardo weighs about 4.5 tons. The original of this replica was created by a prominent Czech sculptor Josef Václav Myslbek, it was part of the equestrian statue of St. Wenceslas in life-size, the dominant site of Wenceslas Square in Prague. In 1979, two identical but smaller bronze statues of Ardo were cast in ČKD Blansko. One ended up in Brno on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the local veterinary school, the other one in Košice, when it celebrated its 30th anniversary. Ardo is currently located on the campus of the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy. On the corner of Zvonárska and Orlia Streets, where it had been standing for years, now stands a statue of a pony named Casso. It is also cast in bronze. Casso was donated to the City of Košice by a group of Košice residents who wanted to remain anonymous.
Sándor Márai Memorial
Intersection of Mäsiarska and Zbrojničná Streets 48.72493744474584, 21.25382009448887
https://www.maraisandor.eu
Sándor Márai Memorial – the academic sculptor Peter Gáspár is the author of the Sándor Márai statue. It took the Czechs a few decades to understand that the German-speaking Jew from Prague, Franz Kafka, was also their author. And the Slovaks have only recently begun to get to know the Hungarian-speaking Košice resident with the German roots, Sándor Márai. Today, his books are bestsellers in Germany, Italy, and Spain. Visit the calmly sitting Sándor at the end of Mäsiarská Street and think about the world around you.
Flower
Strojárenská Street, Košice
Flower – Mikuláš Szigeti is the author of the sandstone statue in front of the Presidential Office on Strojárenská Street in the Old Town.
Košice Coat of Arms
Between the Dolná Brána (Lower Gate) and Námestie Slobody (Freedom Square) 48.719060079277234, 21.258884269077893
The Coat of Arms of the City of Košice dates back to 1369. It was awarded to the city by King Louis I the Great at the royal castle in Diósgyőr (now part of Miskolc). The coat of arms is not the oldest one in Europe, but its uniqueness lies in the fact that the King awarded the coat of arms deed – armales, which is the first such document awarded to a legal entity in Europe. Until then, coats of arms had been only awarded to natural persons and its award to Košice testifies to the importance of this city within the Kingdom of Hungary. The academic sculptor Arpád Račko is the author of the artwork located in the South Park. The statue was ceremoniously unveiled in 2002 on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the award of the coat of arms to the City of Košice.
Immaculata Sculpture
Main Street 48.72287919237232, 21.25677201869205
The Immaculata Sculpture – Šimon Grimming (sculptor), Tomáš Tornyossi (builder) left the most beautiful Baroque sculptures in Košice on Hlavná Street. It is connected with us, from the years 1709 – 1710, when there was a plague in Košice. It took him more than a year to finish it. Thanks to those who survived, raised funds for a new plague pillar at the site of the old military execution site.
ambassadors of kraj sveta
