Stop 1 · Buildings Walk
Heroes' Gate
Aradi vértanúk tere · First World War memorial gate · 1936
A gate whose frescoes were whitewashed after 1945. Everything only came back by 2000.
It was built in memory of Szeged's heroes of the First World War, on Aradi vértanúk tere at the start of Boldogasszony sugárút. The inscription reads “Porta Heroum 1914–1918”: the gate of heroes.
In 1936 Vilmos Aba-Novák and his assistants painted the walls under the arches. After 1945 the frescoes were whitewashed, and they were only restored between 1986 and 2000.
According to a tourist site, the idea came from Kuno Klebelsberg, who also dreamed up Dóm tér, and wanted people arriving by train to see the city's symbol. We haven't checked this against archive sources yet.
Open in the app →Animated scene, old photos, stamps and the full map. Free, nothing to install.Facts and labels
- TrueVilmos Aba-Novák's frescoes were made in 1936.
- TrueWhitewashed after 1945, restored between 1986 and 2000.
- AllegedlyKuno Klebelsberg's idea: according to a tourist site.
People say
According to press reports of the time, the Aba-Novák fresco in the Hősök kapuja was so big that there was no bigger one in the world.
What we know: According to the Szeged Panoráma blog, the frescoes were allegedly later covered with gray cement plaster.
Where it was said: Szeged Panoráma: Porta Heroum (Hősök kapuja)
The fresco in the Hősök kapuja also shows a tree from Montello. According to a war story, this tree withered from the hundreds of bullets it caught, and that is how it protected the Szeged infantrymen.
Where it was said: Szeged Panoráma: Porta Heroum (Hősök kapuja)