Transcarpathian “mini-trail” in Budapest (PHOTOS)

Everyone knows the huge horseman statues and the statues of Heroes’ Square, but there is more than meets the eye – as they say. Budnews.hu tells about work that are so small that you probably won’t notice them if you don’t know where to find them: a 15-centimeter worm, snail, sparrow, and even a mini tank statue is hidden in Budapest. They appear under the cover of the night somewhere in the city and stay…

The main worm

There is a sweet cartoon-series entitled „A nagy Ho-ho-ho horgász” about a clumsy angler and his bait, the worm. This cartoon determined our childhood, and now we can meet this cute worm in person. This mini statue appeared last year on the riverbank at Bem Quay 15 in the biggest secret, as the sculptor, the Ukrainian artist Mihajlo Kolodko secretly places his small bronze surprises for the city. The 15 cm high bronze statue also brings good luck: rubbing the nose of the worm results a good catch.

Small tank

After another guerrilla action, now we can admire a tiny tank on the Bem Quay. This is also the work of Mykhailo Kolodko. The small tank is on the Bem Quay near Batthyány Square, at the Kossuth Bridge memorial stone at the tram stop. (Kossuth Bridge was a temporary bridge after the World War 2). Although the gun is directed to the Parliament, it is sadly lowered as the nose of an elephant indicating that the war period is over.

Kermit the Frog

The third miniature statue of Mykhailo Kolodko is another cartoon character, the frog from Muppet Show. He’s sitting at Szabadság Square, near to the hut in the center of the park. With Kermit the sculptor has commemorated the tradition of eating frogs, but don’t worry: local people love this small frog so much that he got a scarf in winter to stay warm.

Mekk Elek the Goat

Another cartoon, another cute statue from Kolodko: Mekk Elek, the bumbling handyman goat is a puppet character from the seventies. The gold-hearted, but butter-fingered Master Mekk’s house is decorated by 13 plates of different professions, but in the reality he has nothing to do with any of these professions. The statue of about 15 to 20 centimeters showed up in Széll Kálmán Square in a secluded spot, at the foot of one of the stairs leading to the Castle.

Ferenc Liszt

Where else could the miniature statue of Ferenc Liszt stand if not at the airport named after him? The airport is named after the world-renowned artist since 2011, in honor of the 200th anniversary of Ferenc Liszt’s birth. Liszt is sitting on a suitcase showing that Liszt has traveled a lot in Europe and since there was no airplane in his time, these trips were lengthy, not like in these days. Find this Kolodko statue at Liszt Ferenc International Airport: you have to walk a bit to the right from the bus stop to Terminal 2A.

Houdini

Although Harry Houdini’s mini statue is not standing in public space, it cannot be missing from the list. The creator is also Mykhailo Kolodko and the tiny bronze Houdini is located on the first floor of the K11 Arts and Culture Center. Few know that the illusionist and stunt performer was born in Budapest as Erik Weisz, and his family moved to America when he was only four years old.

Dead squirrel

The newest guerilla statue of Budapest is situated next to the famous Peter Falk statue at Falk Miksa Street. Behind the Columbo sculpture, a small form of squirrel lying on the sidewalk, and it’s sure: it has been murdered. He holds a gun lying in a "blood pond" made of marble, so it seems, Columbo has a new case to investigate in!

Snails, sparrows and abandoned things

Kolodko is not the only author of miniature statues of the city. The renovated Széll Kálmán Square has at least 35 small bronze sculptures: tiny bronze snails and sparrows, a bronze umbrella, a wallet, and a skateboard, which was created by Antal Plank sculptor. It is interesting to note that these tiny sculptures are not just placed to attract the eyes. Their primary aim is to prevent young people from using these edges for skateboarding.