The Petőfi family funerary monument in Kerepesi úti Cemetery (Fiumei Road Graveyard) in Budapest is a work by Bory Jenő. The memorial is not merely a family burial place, but also a symbolic site of remembrance: a cenotaph paying tribute to Petőfi Sándor, whose earthly resting place is unknown.
The central feature of the funerary monument, which is approximately four metres high, is a bronze Turul bird holding a lyre in its talons. The composition is rich in symbolism: the Turul is a prominent emblem of national tradition, while the lyre refers to poetry. The bird thus preserves the memory of the poet who rests in an unknown place, and at the same time makes the funerary monument Petőfi’s symbolic grave. A bronze wreath also forms part of the composition.
The history of the funerary monument is complex. It originally served as the grave of Petőfi’s parents, but his brother, Petőfi István, was later buried here, and in 1912 the mortal remains of Szendrey Júlia and Petőfi Zoltán were also brought here. The expanding family grave thus gradually became the central memorial place of the Petőfi family.
The commission was a challenge not only artistically, but symbolically as well. The poet’s absence called for a solution that would allude both to his presence and to his absence. One expressive means of doing so was the lyre-bearing Turul placed at the summit of the composition. An interesting detail in the work’s creation is that Emperor Franz Joseph once viewed the Turul bird’s developing model at the Epreskert master school of Alajos Stróbl, where Bory also worked.
The funerary monument was commissioned by the National Association of Hungarian Restaurateurs and erected in 1913. It was among the important early commissions of Bory Jenő’s career. In the years before the First World War, he made several large-scale funerary monuments, many of which stand in Fiumei Road Graveyard. The Petőfi family funerary monument has recently been restored and still receives visitors in a condition worthy of it.