Bonus trip · Gossip Walk
Pista Dankó statue
Stefánia, at the end of Dózsa utca · Ede Margó, 1912 · white marble
One of the country's most popular song composers couldn't even write music. The sculptor carved his statue for free, and many believe it is the world's first public statue erected in honour of a Roma person.
Pista Dankó was born in 1858 in Szatymaz, into a Roma family. At 15 he was already leading his own band, then moved to Szeged. He wrote about 400 songs; the actress Lujza Blaha made his first ones famous nationwide.
He couldn't write music: others wrote his songs down. At Géza Gárdonyi's request he wrote the march “A magyarok bejövetele” (The Arrival of the Hungarians). He died in Budapest in 1903 and was buried in Szeged.
After his death his friend, the poet Lajos Pósa, started a collection for a statue. It was paid for by public donations and took almost ten years. The sculptor Ede Margó asked no fee; he played the violin himself.
It was unveiled on the Stefánia on 20 October 1912. A choir sang Dankó songs, Ármin Balassa and Lajos Pósa gave speeches, Ferenc Móra recited a poem, and Dankó's widow was there. The Délmagyarország called it “not exactly a work of genius”, but the crowd loved it.
According to Délmagyar, Szeged's upper class saw him in his lifetime as a “shabby fiddler”, even though he was known abroad.
A newspaper article from the 1920s tells how one night a poor Roma violinist in a worn coat walked past the statue and raised his hat. On 10 November 1928 Szeged's Roma musicians gathered here unannounced, and Gyula Juhász recited his new poem “Dankó Pistának” (To Pista Dankó).
In 2003, on the 100th anniversary of his death, a plaque with a stanza by Gyula Juhász was placed beside it. The statue is under local heritage protection.
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- True20 October 1912: unveiling. The work of Ede Margó, in white Ruszkica marble, one and a half times life-size.
- TrueThe sculptor asked no fee; the statue was paid for by public donations.
- Allegedly“The world's first public statue erected in honour of a Roma person.” Délmagyar says so, without a source. A heritage database notes many consider it the world's only statue of a Roma musician.
- True20 October 2026 marked 114 years since it was unveiled.
People say
It is said that the Dankó Pista statue on the Stefánia promenade is probably the only statue in the world of a Roma bandleader.
Where it was said: Szeged, a Szobrok Városa (Tudtad?)