Due to its central location atop Gellért Hill, at the south eastern bastion of the Citadella, the Statue of Liberty is visible from any point of downtown. Although opinions differ about the statue originally erected to commemorate Soviet heroes, it is undoubtedly one of the most important symbols of Budapest.

The statue by Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl has a height of 40 meters including its base of 14 meters. It portrays a female figure holding a palm branch symbolizing victory and peace. Only making the female figure demanded 40,000 pounds of bronze.

A figure with a torch and a dragon with its killer make the composition complete. The dragon-slayer representing the fight against fascism is very much similar to a figure of the WWI monument by Kisfaludi Strobl unveiled in Nyíregyháza in 1928.

The Statue of Liberty was ordered by the Budapest National Committee in 1945, soon after the siege of Budapest. It was Soviet General Vorosilov personally who chose Kisfaludi Strobl to create the sculpture group originally named as Liberation Monument. The project was supervised by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Constructions as well as General Vorosilov himself. Although the statue was planned to be placed in Horváth Garden, as a result of Soviet pressure it was erected on the top of Gellért Hill with a height of 40 meters instead of 10. The sculpture group was inaugurated in 1947 to commemorate Soviet soldiers who expelled the German troops from Budapest at the end of WW2.

The original sculpture group included more figures but it was considerably changed after the political changes in 1989. Although both minor figures (3 and 6 meters high) of Soviet armed soldiers were knocked over during the Revolution of 1956, the bigger one was restored afterwards and was removed only in 1992. Currently it is one of the 42 public sculptures from the communist era exhibited in the Memento Park in District 22.

Remodeling the monument finished in 1993. Reliefs and writings were changed or removed. The original inscription under the machine gunner figure read “To the memory of the liberating Soviet heroes erected by the grateful Hungarian people”, which was changed to ”To the memory of all those who sacrificed their lives for the independence, freedom, and prosperity of Hungary”.

As part of Project “The Statue of the Soul of Liberty”, the statue was wrapped in white for a few days in 1992 meant to symbolize the spectre of communism, celebrating the withdrawal of Soviet troops. This artistic performance generated an association with a new meaning of the sculpture group and became the symbol of independence.

According to an urban legend the statue was meant to commemorate Vice-governor István Horthy killed in an air crash. This was based on that was factually assigned to make a monument of him in Budapest, however, it had never come true and even its design was considerably different from that of the Statue of Liberty.

The Statue of Liberty plays an important role in the life of Budapest and over the years it has become a landmark of the capital.