The grand transformation of the Battle of Mohács memorial site begins

The Mohács National Memorial was inaugurated on 29 August 1976. Built on the site of the mass grave of the soldiers killed in the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the atrium-shaped central building, with a large glass structure and a large ventilated atrium, was designed by the recently deceased Kossuth and Ybl Miklós Ybl Prize-winning architect György Vadász. By this time, the bronze ornamental gate of József Pölöskei, a jeweller, had been completed, and a fountain in the shape of a white stone rose by sculptor Gyula Illés was placed in the centre of Vadász's sunken building. In 2011, the ensemble was extended with the addition of a reception building in the shape of the Holy Crown, also by György Vadász.

Almost 2500 m² of new construction

The final resting place of 1,700 soldiers in the cemetery, which will be completely renovated and a new exhibition space dedicated to the Battle of Mohács will be created by the contractor. As reported by our newspaper, the renovation of the reception building, the replacement of the upper dome level and the creation of a passageway to the lower exhibition space await the winner of the public procurement winner, who will also be able to build a new exhibition space below ground level and a new chapel. The chapel is being designed by Vadász és Társai Építésziroda (Vadász and Partners Architectural Office); it will be covered with colourful, glazed ceramic tiles (e.g. Zsolnay) and will have a three-part wooden gate, behind which a „Wall of Heroes” will be installed, bearing the names of the deceased heroes identified during historical research. The ossuary (underground chapel) below the chapel will provide a space for the burial of the skeletal remains of nearly 500 people, which have been excavated from mass graves and partially identified.

Applications are invited by 31 January for the construction work, which must be completed by 2 March 2026. By the end of the six months, a workshop and a new storage building will have to be constructed, as well as a road to access them. The construction will also include the reconstruction of the Hades Gate, the memorial square (site of mass graves) and the reconstruction of the entire garden. This will be accompanied by the construction of the reception areas for the monuments symbolising the unity of Central Europe.

The main figures of the complex reconstruction

• total useful floor area: 3483 m²
• total useful floor area of new construction: 2359 m²;
• total renovation useful floor area: 1124 m²
• concrete: 5270 m³;
• glass curtain wall: 429 m²;
• landscape architecture works: 20859 m²;
• solar PV system: total capacity 49.14 kWp;
• during the reconstruction of the Hades Gate, it is also necessary to replace the missing bronze elements and to replace/renovate the stone elements.