Deák Mausoleum

The Deák Mausoleum is one of the notable monuments in the Fiumei út cemetery in Budapest, the burial place of the Hungarian politician Ferenc Deák.

History

"The Sage of the Homeland" died on January 28, 1876 at the age of 72. He was buried on February 3 in his temporary grave in the Fiumei út cemetery. Since the nation regarded him as its own dead, a decorative monument design was created, its financial side being funded by public donations. Forty‑two entries were received for the announced competition. The first prize was awarded to the young Kálmán Gerster.

The Deák mausoleum was completed between 1879 and 1882. Afterwards Bertalan Székely contributed to the design of the interior decoration. The building was inaugurated on May 21, 1887 in a ceremonial setting. At that time Deák Ferenc’s ashes were transferred here from the temporary chapel. (Interesting note: twenty years later Gerster also designed the final resting place of Lajos Kossuth.)

The mausoleum is generally kept locked; it can be visited from the inside on occasion during thematic tours organized by the National Heritage Institute.

Features

The mausoleum was built in an eclectic style. Its dome is no less than 27 metres high.

The angel on the dome tower was also designed by Gerster, with György Kiss as the builder. The sculpture of the Deák sarcophagus is by Alajos Strobl, the interior paintings are works of Bertalan Székely. The decorative sarcophagus was destroyed during the Second World War. The paintings are no longer visible today, as they deteriorated in barely a decade. At that time Székely also designed them in mosaic form, which was executed by Miksa Róth up to 1903. Their restoration took place between 1999 and 2003.