{"id":184709,"date":"2025-05-21T09:26:22","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T07:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/?p=184709"},"modified":"2025-05-21T09:26:22","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T07:26:22","slug":"explore-the-hidden-animal-art-of-budapest-a-unique-walking-tour-featuring-the-universitys-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/en\/2025\/05\/explore-the-hidden-animal-art-of-budapest-a-unique-walking-tour-featuring-the-universitys-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Explore the hidden animal art of Budapest: A unique walking tour featuring the University\u2019s garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cursed bull, the campus cat, and Kolodko\u2019s Garfield \u2013 A feline-focused walking tour through Erzs\u00e9betv\u00e1ros<\/strong><\/p>

The Miau, Purring Budapest<\/em> tour by Pestbudai S\u00e9t\u00e1k<\/em> is a feline-themed urban exploration tailor-made for animal lovers. Winding through Budapest\u2019s 7th District, the route includes hidden corners, rich historical anecdotes, and exclusive access to the lush inner garden of the University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, a space otherwise closed to the public. Along the way, visitors also encounter striking examples of street art.<\/p>

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The University\u2019s beloved cat, Marci<\/h3>

One of the tour\u2019s most exciting highlights is the rare opportunity to wander through the inner campus of the University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest. Before the COVID pandemic, this was an open space, freely accessible to all. Since then, entry has been restricted \u2013 the garden may be admired from the outside, but stepping in requires special permission. This guided walk offers participants that rare chance to explore the university\u2019s architectural and artistic treasures from within.<\/p>

Designed by the renowned architect Imre Steindl, the university\u2019s campus is home to numerous works of art, many of them bronze busts honouring pioneers in Hungarian veterinary science. Others depict animals – a thematic nod to the institution\u2019s mission. Just beyond the main entrance stands a life-size statue of a Hungarian Grey bull, sculpted by B\u00e9la Domonkos. The model for the statue was a bull named Csatl\u00f3s<\/em>, from the Hortob\u00e1gy region. Unveiled in 1987, the sculpture quickly gained notoriety due to a peculiar superstition: students who sit on the bull\u2019s back are said to fail their exams. Rumour has it that the legend originated with the faculty themselves. Truth or not, the tale adds to the mystique of the campus.<\/p>

Creating the statue wasn\u2019t without drama. According to a 1987 article in Pest Megyei H\u00edrlap<\/em>, the sculptor and bull endured quite an ordeal. Living in harsh conditions at the time, Domonkos witnessed Csatl\u00f3s<\/em> being herded violently into an enclosure for observation and sketching. The bull attempted to break free three times before being subdued with the help of a clever dog named Fick\u00f3<\/em>. Isolated from the herd, Csatl\u00f3s<\/em> was nearly attacked by the other bulls – a grim reminder of how animals, too, recognise outsiders. In the end, Domonkos managed to complete his sketches, and in gratitude, local herders hosted him for a farewell dinner and gifted him a keepsake: a bull\u2019s tailbone.<\/p>

Whether the bull really jinxes exams remains uncertain, but one story is beyond dispute: the university once had a resident cat. Marci<\/em>, a black tomcat, wandered into the garden one day and stayed for twelve years. He became a campus legend, loved by students, staff, and professors. After his passing in 2023, the community raised funds for a statue in his memory. Today, Marci sits proudly on a windowsill of one of the buildings, his legacy immortalised in bronze beside a multilingual plaque.<\/p>

From centaurs to Hungarian breeds<\/h3>

Continuing the tour, visitors encounter a statue of a centaur, often mistaken for Firenze<\/em>, the wise centaur from the Harry Potter<\/em> series. The sculpture is followed by a captivating installation by artist G\u00e1bor Ben\u0151 Pog\u00e1ny: a nine-piece ensemble showcasing native Hungarian dog breeds, including the Puli, Pumi, Mudi, Hungarian Vizsla, Wirehaired Vizsla, Hungarian Greyhound, Transylvanian Hound, Kuvasz, and Komondor.<\/p>

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Street art meets veterinary science<\/h3>

The experience is framed by the whimsical works of guerrilla sculptor Mih\u00e1ly Kolodko, famed for his miniature statues scattered across Budapest. Before entering the campus, visitors can view Kolodko\u2019s Noah\u2019s Ark<\/em> at the nearby Bethlen G\u00e1bor Square playground – a piece inspired by the university. Upon leaving, a final surprise awaits: a sculpture of Garfield\u2019s<\/em> head atop one of the fence columns. Originally, the fence featured small animal heads, but several went missing over time. Kolodko filled the gap with a tribute to the comic-strip cat in honour of Garfield\u2019s 45th anniversary.<\/p>

Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Miau, Purring Budapest tour by Pestbudai S\u00e9t\u00e1k is a feline-themed urban exploration tailor-made for animal lovers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2518,"featured_media":95656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2518"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184709"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":184710,"href":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184709\/revisions\/184710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/univet.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}