Epreskert Garden, Budapest
Sculptural selfie… Epreskert Garden
We were on our way to the Szechenyi Baths, the biggest and most popular thermal baths in Budapest, so couldn’t linger but spotted quite by chance whilst passing by, through the iron fence and leafy trees and bushes, an array of discarded and surreal sculptures in mottled sunlit gardens. We returned the next day for we had stumbled across Epreskert Garden.
Historically, Epreskert was a garden of strawberries or mulberry trees in the Pest district of Budapest. By the late 1800s, as the city expanded, the garden became a mecca for artists, and an art colony grew. Many artists such as the sculptors György Zala and Adolf Huszár, and painters Gyula Aggházy and Árpád Feszty all worked here and lived nearby. It is still used by students from the Hungarian University of Fine Arts.
Though apparently quite hard to visit, I simply walked through the gate, said hello and smiled to the guard, pointed to my camera and the gardens, smiled again, and he beckoned me in. The garden was a tranquil haven from the bustling city; it was like stumbling upon a timeless, secret garden. There were discarded, life-size human sculptures everywhere, creating a slightly eerie sensation, like I was always being watched, and they might come alive at any time.
