Wandering with ghosts

Just think. This sanctuary for the remains for fallen heroes, departed artists & artists, and thousands of more or less ordinary folk could have been part of a housing development.

This was one plan that that the communist authorities had for the Kerepesi Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in Budapest. Part of the grounds were, in fact, turned over to a nearby rubber factory. Now, the area is bordered by a large indoor shopping mall.

The communist rulers and capitalist entrepreneurs, however, were unable to diminish the beauty and scope of the place. It covers 56 hectares (138 acres), and is regarded as one of Europe's largest statue parks.  The magnitude, the volume of artwork and the sheer emotion of the place is striking. We strolled around the grounds of the cemetery yesterday, enjoying the stillness and the beautiful statuary that marks so many of the resting places.

(Margaret is using a new tablet on this trip, and these photos are taken with the device. Maybe we'll figure out later how to post the cool panorama shots she took.) 

The cemetery did provide a notable language lesson. We were both wondering: "Who are these people Csalad? They must have been very important. They have graves everywhere." Later, we looked up the word. "Csalad" means "family" in Hungarian.