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The Lipotvaros reaches its monumental climax at Kossuth ter , named after the leader of the 1848 Revolution, Lajos Kossuth, but also featuring a statue of an earlier hero of the struggle for Hungarian independence, Prince Ferenc Rakoczi II. The quote inscribed on the latter's plinth - "The wounds of the noble Hungarian nation burst open!" - refers to the anti-Habsburg war of 1703-11, but could just as well describe the evening of October 23, 1956, when crowds filled the square, chanting anti-Stalinist slogans at Parliament and calling for the appearance of Nagy - the prelude to the Uprising that night. An eternal flame burns in memory of those who died here on October 25, when AVO snipers opened fire on a peaceful crowd that was fraternizing with Soviet tank-crews. Thirty-three years later, the wheel turned full circle as the Republic of Hungary was proclaimed to an enthusiastic crowd from the same balcony that Nagy had spoken from, and the People's Republic of Hungary was officially consigned to the dustbin of history - symbolized by the removal of the red star from Parliament's dome, and the replacement of Communist emblems by the traditional coat of arms, featuring the double cross of King Stephen.
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