Statue of Ferenc II Rákoczi
Statue, monument, memorial plaque
In 2006, Košice finally got a statue of Rákóczi! The Hungarian state donated the work of sculptor Sándor Györfi to the city on the occasion of the 330th anniversary of the birth of Ferenc II Rákóczi and the 100th anniversary of his reburial in the Košice Cathedral. The only full-length statue of Rákóczi in the Uplands so far was unveiled on April 4 in front of the Rodostó House. The bronze statue stands on a gray Brazilian granite rock, on which a map of Europe with the main stages of Rákóczi's life can be seen. The unveiling ceremony was attended by Rudolf Schuster, former President of the Republic of Slovakia, the leaders of the city and county of Košice, the Hungarian ambassador to Bratislava, and the Consul General in Košice. A celebratory speech was given in Hungarian and Slovak by Ágnes Bíró, State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Government. In his speech, he called the prince one of the greatest figures in Hungarian history and drew attention to the fact that "today's Slovakia was not a suffering subject, but an active participant in Hungarian history", therefore "let's not retouch this reality, there is no need to rewrite, rename, modify, or alter our common history".