A New Kolodko Mini-Statue on Liberty Bridge Honors Budapest’s Forgotten Hydroplane Line

Budapest’s beloved trail of tiny bronze surprises has a new stop, and it comes with one of the city’s most curious hidden histories attached. Ukrainian-Hungarian guerrilla sculptor Mihály Kolodko has just added another mini-statue to the dozens already scattered across the capital, and this one sits at the Buda foot of Liberty Bridge, on the rocks exposed by the Danube’s unusually low water level. Called “The Last Flight,” the small bronze figure marks the 100th anniversary of the closure of a hydroplane station that once connected Budapest to Lake Balaton and even Vienna by air.

If you’ve spent any time wandering Budapest’s riverbanks or bridges, you’ve probably already stumbled across one of Kolodko’s works without quite knowing what you were looking at. Since arriving in Hungary, the sculptor has installed dozens of palm-sized bronze figures throughout the city, from a tiny Kermit the Frog on Liberty Square to a miniature Rubik’s Cube near Bem Quay. None of them are officially sanctioned. They simply appear overnight on railings, bollards, and ledges, turning a walk through downtown Budapest into an unplanned scavenger hunt.

Where To Find The Last Flight

The new sculpture sits on the southern side of the Buda bridgehead of Liberty Bridge, perched on one of the stones that normally lie underwater but have become visible thanks to the Danube’s low water level this year. It’s a fitting, if slightly poetic, placement, since the piece was partly inspired by the objects and relics that have resurfaced from the riverbed during the drought. Kolodko has described the idea behind “The Last Flight” as a way of reconnecting places, echoing how the hydroplanes once linked destinations through the air a century ago.

Visitors curious enough to seek it out should tread carefully. The rocks near the bridgehead are slippery and uneven, and it’s easy to twist an ankle or slip into the river while getting close for a photo. As with all of Kolodko’s guerrilla installations, there’s no barrier, signage, or official path, so a bit of caution goes a long way if you want that close-up shot for Instagram.

The Untold Story Of Budapest’s Flying Boats

It’s hard to imagine now, but a century ago Budapest had its own version of an air taxi, and it took off and landed directly on the Danube. Between 1923 and 1926, a company called Aeroexpress operated a hydroplane station right where Liberty Bridge meets the Buda embankment, near the Technical University. Back then the bridge was still known as Franz Joseph Bridge, and the stretch of river in front of it briefly became one of the most talked-about spots in the city.

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The aircraft themselves were Junkers F-13s, sleek all-metal machines covered in shining aluminum sheeting that earned them the nickname “silver birds” in the press of the day. Passengers sat in an enclosed cabin, though the pilot’s seat remained open to the elements, and the planes could be fitted with either wheels or floats depending on whether they needed to land on ground or water. Contemporary newspaper Az Est captured the buzz at the time, describing crowds gathering along the riverbank near the bridge and the university just to catch a glimpse of the silver aircraft skimming over the water.

Among the pilots who flew these routes, the most famous by far was György Endresz. Years after his time flying passengers between Budapest and the Balaton for Aeroexpress, Endresz went on to achieve international fame in 1931 when he completed one of the earliest successful nonstop transatlantic flights, becoming the fifteenth aviator in the world to cross the Atlantic. His early career on the humble Danube hydroplane line makes for a nice piece of trivia for aviation buffs exploring the site today.

Beyond short sightseeing flights over the city, which gave passengers a fifteen-to-twenty-minute bird’s-eye view of Budapest, Aeroexpress ran a scheduled service to Lake Balaton and, on request, all the way to Vienna. The Budapest–Siófok route took about forty minutes, with flights running twice a day in each direction, though each plane could only carry up to six passengers at a time. Down at the lake, locals affectionately nicknamed the aircraft “Silver Seagulls.” Unsurprisingly, given the cost, this early air travel was mostly the preserve of Budapest’s wealthier residents, who used it for everything from weekend trips to the horse races in Vienna to visits to Czech spa towns, and even for ferrying luxury goods like tropical fruit, furs, and imported film reels into the city.

The venture wasn’t without tragedy. Just weeks after launching, one of the hydroplanes crashed near the southern Connecting Railway Bridge, killing all six people on board. Flights were briefly suspended, but rather than dampening enthusiasm, the accident seemed to fuel what newspapers of the era called a genuine flying craze across the city. Aeroexpress even secured permits to expand service to Prague, Bucharest, and Zagreb, though those routes never actually got off the ground. Ultimately, rising costs and low fares proved unsustainable, and the company collapsed in 1926, a downfall not helped by a counterfeiting scandal involving its founder, Count Endre Jankovich-Bésán. The hydroplane station closed for good, and today only a small memorial plaque near Gellért Square hints that, for three short years, silver birds once took off from the heart of Budapest.

Why This Matters For Visitors

For anyone exploring Budapest on foot, this new mini-statue is a perfect excuse to combine two things the city does exceptionally well: quirky street art and layered history hiding in plain sight. Liberty Bridge itself is already one of the most photogenic spots in the city, connecting Gellért Hill and the Gellért Baths on the Buda side with the Great Market Hall on the Pest side, and it’s a regular stop on walking tours for its green ironwork and views of the river. Adding a stop to search for “The Last Flight” gives the visit an extra layer of storytelling, especially for travelers who enjoy uncovering the lesser-known chapters of a city’s past rather than just ticking off the standard landmarks.

It’s also a good reminder to keep your eyes open while walking around Budapest generally. Kolodko’s mini-statues have become something of an unofficial city-wide treasure hunt, with pieces tucked away near the Chain Bridge, Bem Quay, Liberty Square, and dozens of other spots, each one referencing a piece of local history, pop culture, or Hungarian humor. Whether “The Last Flight” stays permanently at Liberty Bridge or eventually moves on, as some of Kolodko’s pieces do, it’s worth seeking out now while the Danube’s low water level still exposes the rocks where it currently sits.