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Further out of the city is one of Budapest's most popular tourist attractions, the Statue Park ( Szoborpark ), which brings together 42 of the monuments that once glorified Communism. The park is situated way out beside Balatoni ut in the XXII district, 15km from the city centre, and getting there involves taking a red-numbered bus 7-173 from the Parizsi Udvar to Etele ter, and then a yellow Volan bus from stand #2 towards Diosd, which takes twenty minutes to reach the park. Buy a ticket from the driver, as passes aren't valid on this route. Since park opening hours (daily 10am-dusk; winter Sat, Sun & public holidays only; 300Ft) can shift in spring or late autumn and the site may be closed in bad weather at any time, it's worth phoning ahead if in doubt (tel 1/424 7500). For a preview, visit the park's website www.szoborpark.hu . Clearly visible from the highway, a bogus Classical facade frames giant statues of Lenin, Marx and Engels. Lenin's once stood beside the Varosliget, while those of Marx and Engels are carved from granite quarried at Mauthausan, the Nazi concentration camp later used by the Soviets. Inside the grounds you'll encounter the Red Army soldier that guarded the Liberation Monument and dozens of other statues and memorials. Artistically, the best are the Republic of Councils Monument - a colossal charging sailor based on a 1919 revolutionary poster - and Imre Varga's Bela Kun Memorial, showing Kun making a speech from a platform amid a surging crowd of workers and soldiers (plus a bystander with an umbrella). Budapesters fondly remember the statue of Captain Ostapenko that once stood on the highway to the Balaton and Vienna, where hitchhikers would arrange to meet their friends. Among the souvenirs on sale in the park are candles in the form of Stalin and Lenin, cans of air from "the last breath of socialism", and selections of old revolutionary songs, which can be heard playing from a 1950s radio set. There's also an informative English-language brochure available (400Ft)
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