Shoes on the banks of the Danube, Budapest

The Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial consists of 60 pairs of cast-iron shoes attached to the embankment in the centre of Budapest. It commemorates the victims, primarily Budapest’s Jewish community, who were murdered in 1944 and 1945 by members of the fascist Arrow Cross Party.

The Hungarian name of the memorial is ‘Cipők a Duna-parton’; on maps and in foreign guidebooks, you will also find it listed as ‘Shoes on the Danube Bank’.

The shoes lie on the Pest side of the river, about 300 metres south of the Parliament building. The memorial is open to the public, admission is free, and a visit takes just 10 to 20 minutes.

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Basic information

Admission: free
Opening hours: open 24 hours a day
Time required for a visit: 10 to 20 minutes
Number of shoes: 60 pairs
Location: the Pest side of the Danube between the Parliament and the Chain Bridge
Nearest stop: Kossuth Lajos tér

Why are there shoes on the banks of the Danube?

In October 1944, the fascist and strongly anti-Semitic Arrow Cross Party seized power in Hungary. Its armed units began persecuting and murdering Jews and other opponents of the regime in Budapest.

Groups of victims were taken by armed men to various locations along the Danube. Before killing them, they robbed them of their valuables and ordered them to take off their shoes. Leather footwear was highly prized during the war, and the perpetrators could either keep it or sell it.

The victims were then shot at the very edge of the embankment so that their bodies would fall into the river and be carried away by the current.

The exact number of people murdered in this way is unknown. Estimates of the number of victims of the Arrow Cross Party across Budapest also include murders in the streets, in houses and in the ghetto, and cannot therefore be taken as the number of people shot directly into the Danube.

The location of the memorial is symbolic. It does not commemorate a single specific, precisely documented execution at the site of today’s shoes, but rather the victims of murders that took place at various locations along the Budapest embankment.

Are the shoes real?

No. There are 60 pairs of shoes cast in cast iron, modelled on genuine men’s, women’s and children’s footwear from the 1940s. The different sizes and types of shoes are intended to remind us that the victims included men, women and children.

The number of shoes does not correspond to the number of people murdered. Each pair is merely a symbol of a much larger number of victims.

The memorial was designed by film director Can Togay and sculptor Gyula Pauer. It was unveiled on 16 April 2005, on Hungary’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.

On three cast-iron plaques, you will find inscriptions in Hungarian, English and Hebrew. People leave flowers, candles and small stones amongst the shoes as a tribute to those murdered.

How to visit

The memorial stands directly in a public space. There is no entrance gate, ticket office or visitor centre, and you can visit at any time.

It takes about 10 minutes just to look around. If you want to read the inscriptions and take in the site at your own pace, allow 20 minutes.

The memorial is usually at its quietest early in the morning. In the evening, it creates a powerful impression when combined with the illuminated riverbank, but the individual details of the shoes and the inscriptions are harder to see.

The shoes lie right by the river, and the embankment can be slippery after rain. Please therefore take care with younger children.

This is still a living place of remembrance, not merely a backdrop for photographs. Please do not step inside the shoes, sit on them or move the stones, candles or flowers left here by other visitors.

Where exactly can you find the memorial?

The Shoes on the Danube Bank are located on Id. Antall József rakpart on the Pest side of the river. They are at the same level as Zoltán utca, about 300 metres south of the Parliament.

Search for ‘Shoes on the Danube Bank’ or ‘Cipők a Duna-parton’ on the map.

Exact location on Google Maps

How to get to the Shoes on the Danube Bank

The easiest way is to go to the Parliament and walk for about 5 minutes along the river towards the Chain Bridge.

Kossuth Lajos tér – Metro line M2 and trams 2, 2B and 23; it’s about a 5-minute walk from the stop
Széchenyi István tér – trams 2, 2B and 23; it’s about an 8-minute walk from the stop
On foot from the Parliament – about 5 minutes
On foot from the Chain Bridge – about 10 minutes
On foot from St Stephen’s Basilica – about 15 minutes

For details on tickets, trams and the metro, see the Budapest public transport guide.

What else can you combine your visit with?

A visit to the monument itself is brief, so there’s no point in walking there and then back the same way.

The best option is to walk the entire length of the embankment from the Parliament Building, past the ‘Boots’ on the banks of the Danube, all the way to the Chain Bridge. The route is about 1 km long and takes 15 to 20 minutes to walk without stopping.

You can then continue across the Chain Bridge to Buda Castle. Heading in the opposite direction from the embankment, you’ll reach St Stephen’s Basilica in about 15 minutes.

Accommodation near the Parliament and the Danube

The area between Parliament, the Basilica and the Chain Bridge is one of the best places to stay on your first visit to Budapest. You can walk to most of the sights, and compared to the neighbourhoods around the major boulevards, it’s quieter here in the evenings.

H2 Hotel Budapest – a modern hotel offering excellent value for money and a great location, about a 10-minute walk from the Danube.
Prestige Hotel Budapest – An elegant 4* hotel between the Basilica and the riverfront, ideal for a more comfortable stay right in the city centre.

You’ll find further specific recommendations in the article ‘Where to stay in Budapest’.