One of the decisive battles of the spring campaign of Hungary’s war of independence in 1848-49 took place between the towns of Isaszeg and Gödöllő. On 6 April 1848, the stakes were high for both armies, Hungarian and Austrian alike. According to accounts, between 26,000 and 28,000 Hungarians, 1,500 Poles and a hundred-strong mixed free troops fought against 40,000 Austrians in a bloody battle. The death toll for both sides was close to a thousand. At one of the sites of that 6 April 1848 battle, a four-metre high statue of the Angel of Remembrance was carved from oak by Lajos József Velekei, based on a design by Imre Makovecz.

“Angelic existence is one step higher than human existence. We know the guardian angel; we all have one. He rejoices with us and weeps with us, but he cannot incarnate. May the Angel of victory watch over our dead. I didn’t know about this place. I did not know that our dead heroes had to rest here in secret, without a mark. I didn’t know that for many years, for decades, flowers and candles were secretly brought up on the day of the dead.

Katonapallag has a powerful aura. The silence is deeper than usual. I think fondly of the Association (who initiated the erection of the Memorial, Ed.) and of those who came up to the angel of the dead in the forest” (Imre Makovecz)

Drawings

Designs

Photos