The Zero Kilometre Stone is a 3 m high

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

sculpture in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

that represents Kilometre Zero in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. It consists of a zero sign, with an inscription on its pedestal reading "KM" for kilometres. It was initially located at the threshold of Buda Royal Palace, but was moved to its present location by

Széchenyi Chain Bridge The Széchenyi Chain Bridge ( hu, Széchenyi lánchíd ) is a chain bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Designed by English engineer William Tierney Clark ...

when the crossing was completed in 1849. The present sculpture is the work of

Miklós Borsos Miklós Borsos (13 August 1906 – 27 January 1990) was a Hungarian sculptor and medallist. His style integrated elements of archaic art and classicism with modern elements. Biography Born in Nagyszeben, Transylvania (present-day Sibiu, Romani ...

and was erected in 1975. The first official monument, a Madonna statue by

Eugene Kormendi Eugene Kormendi (1889–1959) was a Hungarian sculptor. He studied at the Academy of Budapest before moving to Paris to collaborate with Auguste Rodin and Jean Paul Lorenz. Kormendi first came to the United States in 1939 along with his wife, ...

had been set up at this spot in 1932, but was destroyed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. A second sculpture, depicting a worker, was in place from 1953 until its replacement by the current one.

Location

It is located in a small park at Clark Ádám tér (Adam Clark square), at the Buda abutment of

Chain Bridge A chain bridge is a historic form of suspension bridge for which chains or eyebars were used instead of wire ropes to carry the bridge deck. A famous example is the Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest. Construction types are, as for other suspen ...

, below

Buda Castle Buda Castle ( hu, Budavári Palota, german: link=no, Burgpalast) is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian Kings in Budapest. It was first completed in 1265, although the massive Baroque palace today occupying most of the si ...

. *

Location

See also