Budapest – May 2025
Street art has always been an important part of the culture in Budapest. You can find beautiful murals and sculptures throughout the city. In the past, the Budapest art scene was one way for artists to deliver messages buried in art that were not allowed when they were under Communist control. People spent lots of time trying to decode the hidden meanings in the art around town. Art remains an important part of Budapest culture and hidden meanings in art are still going strong.
The evening before our last day in Budapest, I found an article online about the Kolodko mini statues of Budapest that intrigued me.
Mykhailo (Mihaly) Kolodko is a Ukranian-Hungarian guerilla sculptor and one of the most well-known street artists in Budapest. Guerilla sculptors are artists who create and display sculptures in public spaces without authorization. After a formal education in art, his original interest was full size sculptures but there wasn’t much demand after the fall of the Soviet Union – so he started working on mini sculptures. He believed that big ideas could be conveyed even through small works of art. These mini sculptures all have a story and continue to pop up around Budapest and other places. There are over 30 of them in Budapest now!
Searching for these mini statues sounded like an fun way to wander around Budapest and see things we might not have otherwise seen. While a few people offer, guided walking tours of Kolodko’s art, none were scheduled for the following day. And, honestly, we prefer guiding ourselves!
So Sunday morning, we headed out with GoogleMaps as our guide. It was a beautiful morning – cloudy with a little breeze – but it felt great after the two very warm days before.
We searched “Kolodko mini statues” on GoogleMaps and agreed upon a route where we could look for some of them and go to a couple of locations we’d been wanting to visit again.
As we left the Marriot, walking along the water in the direction of the Chain Bridge, we began our search for the mini statues. We had to keep an eye out and watch carefully as they are small and easy to miss at about 10-15 cm (or 4-6 inches) each.
#1 – Libido the Balloon Dog
We first came upon Libido, The Balloon Dog, not far from the entrance to the Chain Bridge on the Pest side of the river. This statue can be found on the wall near one of the steel fence posts that run along the top of the cement wall near the Corso restaurant. This little balloon dog was created in honor of the controversial American artist Jeff Koons who is known for his balloon animals and inflatable sculptures.
Installed in 2019
Address: Belgrád rkp. 26
From there, we passed Kolodko’s full size statue of painter Ignác Roskovics (the original is in Uzhhorod Ukraine; this copy is in Budapest).
#2 – Brexit
Our next stop was to see Brexit. This piece was created when the UK finally left the European Union (EU) after a long withdrawal period. The little bear can be found on the wall of the former British Embassy and is Mr. Bean’s (the child in a grown man’s body from the British sitcom) best stuffed friend Teddy.
Installed in 2020
Address: Harmincad utca 6
We wandered from there to Liberty Square near Parliament. The US Embassy is on one end of this square and there are several monuments on the square, including monuments to Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and WW II liberation.
As we wandered through this park-like setting, it began to sprinkle. Not hard but enough that we noticed the rain. But this didn’t stop our quest to find more statues!
#3 – Kermit the Frog
In Liberty Square, we found Kolodko’s Kermit the Frog statue on a cement wall by the metal railing. Kermit (known as Breki in Hungary) is in front of the former Hungarian National Television headquarters and signifies the popularity of “The Muppet Show” in Hungary. At the end of the show’s airing, Kermit/Breki jumps out of the building and returns to nature – which is exactly where this statue sits on the square now.
The statue also symbolizes when frog legs became a Hungarian delicacy in the late 19th century. In the winter, locals have been known to dress Kermit in scarves and other winter gear.
Installed July 2017
Address: Szabadság square 10
#4 – The Axe
In the same square, on the post of a fence rail, we found the Axe. Liberty Square is full of controversial monuments and the Axe fits right in with this theme.
One of Kolodko’s controversial statues, Ushanka (Russian Hat), was meant to reference how Russia continued to influence Hungarian politics. A far-right politician who did not like this reference showed how he felt by destroying the Ushanka statue with an axe and throwing it into the Danube River. Kolodko’s response was to create the Axe statue and afix it to the place where the Ushanka statue was destroyed, commemorating this unnecessary behavior.
Installed late summer or early fall of 2019
Address: Szabadság square 15
Below are some of the other Liberty Square sites.
#5 – Lunar Rover
We then left Liberty Square and wandered down a side street looking for the next statue. This mini artwork salutes Ferenc Pavlics, a Hungarian inventor, who escaped to the US after the 1956 Revolution and went to work for NASA, significantly contributing to the Apollo Program in the 1960s-1970s. He is the inventor of the wheels that were used to traverse the moon on the Lunar Rover. He was recognized by NASA for this achievement.
This little sculpture Lunar Rover sculpture is found on Hold (Moon in English) Street on a moon-shaped piece of concrete.
Installed 2019
Address: Hold street 12
We then wandered by the Parliament building to return to the Danube River path.
#6 – Ushanka returns
This mini statue is a Russian hat with frog’s legs and is the art created to replace an earlier statue. As shared above, in 2019, the Ushanka (sculpture of a typical Russian winter hat) was destroyed and removed with an axe and thrown in the Danube River by a right-wing member of Parliament opposed to the statue’s inference of Russia’s control of the Hungarian government.
Kolodko created this statue of the Russian hat with frog legs to represent a comeback of the Ushanka from the river. It was placed right next to the House of Parliament Visitor’s Center.
Installed May 2023
Address: Budapest, Id. Antall József rkp., 1055
On the way to find the next statue, we passed Olimpia Park. Here stands the Olympic rings in the colors of the Hungarian flag. This is to symbolize Hungary’s participation in the Olympics as well as its unsuccessful bids to host the Olympics, including the 1916, 1920, 1936, 1944, and 1960 Summer Olympics.
#7 – Dead Squirrel
Next stop was the Dead Squirrel mini statue on Falk Miksa Street. This statue shows a dead squirrel, his body outlined in chalk, with a gun in his hand. No one knows what happened to the squirrel or the true meaning of the statue.
Funny enough, not far from the Dead Squirrel statue is a statue of Colombo and his dog (You can see the back of it behind Mike in the photo below). So perhaps Colombo has cracked the case and knows the truth!
This statue is also known “Ars longa, vita brevis” (Art is ever, life is short).
Installed 2018
Address: Falk Miksa street
From the Dead Squirrel, we walked across the Magrit Bridge, crossing the Danube, to find the next statue. This bridge is a three-way bridge connecting the Buda and Pest cities and linking Margaret Island to the two sides of the river.
#8 – Trabant
The Trabant statue was just to one side of the Margaret Bridge on the Buda side of the river, on the stone wall along the road that goes under the bridge.
The Trabant car is one of the most iconic symbols of the cold war era. These cars were the most popular model in Eastern Europe and some historic (and no longer produced) Trabis can still be seen on the streets of Budapest.
This statue is made from limestone (vs bronze) and has a metal key in the side – representing a wind-up toy version of the Trabi.
Installed Spring 2022
Address: below the Margaret bridge – Buda side
We then walked down along the Danube River on the Buda side of the river to find the next statues. The rain really started coming down and my sun hat became a pseudo umbrella or rain hat! We had a great view of the Parliament Building from this side of the river. We were getting soaked but were still on a hunt for more statues.
#9 – Tiny Tank
On the wall near the river bank across from Parliament, we found the Tiny Tank (often referred to as the “Sad Tank”). This sculpture symbolizes Hungary’s 1956 revolution and the Soviet tanks used to suppress the uprising. It has “Ruszkik Haza!” (“Russians go home!’) etched on the side of the tank and its lowered gun barrel signifies the end of the revolution.
Installed 2024
Address: Bem rkp. 27
#10 – Rubik’s Cube
Not much farther down the river, we found the next statue on a sloped wall next to the stairs. This mini statue was a Rubik’s Cube! Who knew this toy was a Hungarian invention??
The Rubik’s Cube was invented by Hungarian Ernő Rubik. In bronze, it is an unsolvable puzzle honoring the 1956 and 1989 uprisings against the Soviet Union in Hungary – with the cube as a symbol of civil disobedience.
Installed April 2017
Address: Bem rkp
By this time, we were pretty darn wet from the rain but still on our mission to see the mini statues on our selected walking path. We were using any tree we could to shelter us from the rain as we walked the path along the river.
#11 – Főkukac or Chief Worm
Next we found the Chief Worm statue. This was Kolodko’s first miniature statue in Budapest. The cute little worm (Fokukac) is the chief character from a 1980s Hungarian cartoon TV series, “A Nagy Ho-ho-ho Horgasz’ (“The Big Ho-Ho Angler”), about an oafish fisherman and his bait. This little worm has been saved from being bait and is now enjoying life n bronze on the Danube.
Legend says rubbing his nose may bring good luck to fishermen.
Installed December 2016
Address: H-1011 Budapest, Bem rakpart
#12 – Piper
Then we discovered a mini statue of a person lying down playing a flute. It seems similar to the others in how it’s mounted to the wall by the river. However, I can’t find this described anywhere on the sites about Kolodko’s mini sculptures. It does show up on GoogleMaps but without a name or description. And I can’t find it on any of the sites where Kolodo’s mini statues are referenced. So I have no information about this one!
We continued down the road towards the Buda Palace area. The rain was really coming down now so we stopped at a little restaurant near the Buda Palace funicular and had a drink under an umbrella to try and wait out the rain. Once the rain let up a bit, we headed up the big hill to Buda Castle, also known as the Royal Palace. This building houses several cultural institutions, including the Hungarian National Gallery, the Budapest History Museum, and the National Szechenyi Library. We did not go in the building as it was closed on Sunday. We did walk the grounds. Much of it was beautiful and much of it is currently under construction.
Here are some photos from the Palace.
#13 – The Rabbit with the Checkered Ears
At Buda Palace, we found The Rabbit with the Checkered Ears mini statue. This one sits way up high on the hill, at the top of the Castle Hill funicular, with a great view of the river and Pest.
The statue revisits Hungarian TV history. The kockásfülű nyúl (checkered-eared rabbit) is from a 26-episode 1970s animated TV series that was shown worldwide. After the fall of the Communist regime, it was picked up on Nickelodeon in the US.
In the story, the bunny used to peer over the city in the morning with binoculars. If it saw someone in need of rescue, it would turn its huge ears into a propeller and immediately rush to help them. The mini statue of the bunny peers over the capital from the Castle District the same way.
Installed November 2018
Address: H-1014 Budapest, Szent György Square
From here, we stayed on the top of the hill and headed toward Fisherman’s Bastion. On our way, the rain started again. We stopped in at Spiler Biergarten to get a drink and see if the rain would pass. As we sat there, the rain got harder and harder. It was pouring! Since it was about lunch time, we ordered food and stayed for a while longer.
The rain finally let up so we ventured out again to Fisherman’s Bastion. Fisherman’s Bastion is a popular viewing spot and historical monument known for its stunning panoramic views of Budapest, particularly from the Buda side over the Danube River to Pest. It’s a neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque terrace complex, built between 1895 and 1902, and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site. The area around Fisherman’s Bastion was part of the walled castle city.
Some pictures from Fisherman’s Bastion below.
Now it was time to wander down the hill to find some more mini statues!
#14 – The Russians are Already in the Pantry
Next we found a mini statue that has moving parts – The Russians are Already in the Pantry. This one sits in a slot in the wall by the street that runs along the river in Buda.
This statue is a pantry with a working door. On the door is engraved “spajz” (pantry). A Russian soldier looks into the pantry with a jar of empty jam. Behind him there is a chair. The name “The Russians are already in the pantry” is from a 1965 Hungarian satirical movie “The Corporal and the Others” and is the artist’s reflection on the Ukraine-Russia war.
Installed September 2022
Address: Ybl Miklós tér
#15 – Lecso the Gastro Rat
This statue, also along the riverbanks on the Buda side of the river (at the end of the Elisabeth Bridge), represents a (gastro)rat – referencing the Pixar movie, Ratatouille.
The rodent hero of the French kitchen is painting ‘lecso’ on the quayside wall with pink spray paint. Lecso is the name of a Hungarian dish that is similar to ratatouille (so the rat is in effect spray painting the name of the movie on the wall).
It is also thought to give a nod to the art of Banksy, whose favorite and much-used motif is the rat.
Someone had wrapped the rat’s neck in a tiny scarf when we were there.
Installed Late Summer 2021
Address: H-1013 Budapest, Döbrentei tér
By this time, the rain was coming down hard again so we called a cab and went back to the hotel. We were flying back to Heidelberg later in the day and didn’t want to be soaked!
This was a really fun way to roam around Budapest. We highly recommend it! It gave us a path with a purpose through the city, and we saw many great sites along the way.
While we didn’t get to all of the Kolodko mini sculptures, we did get to almost half (15)! When we go back to Budapest, rest assured part of the time will be spent finding some of the ones we did not find on this trip.
Here is the full article that inspired our mini statue search: The Hidden Mini Statues of Budapest. Read more about the sculptures we found, plus others displayed around the city of Budapest.