Paul Street Boys Monument

The Paul Street Boys (A Pal utcai fiuk) was a novel written by Hungarian writer Ferenc Molnar first published in 1906. It is one of the most famous novels in Hungary and is considered a classic satire of European nationalism.

The novel is set in 1889 and focuses on a group of schoolboys who live in the Jozsefvaros neighborhood of Budapest. The boys spend their spare time playing on a vacant plot of land they call the “grund.” When another gang of boys attempts to take over their playground the boys are forced to defend themselves in military fashion.

The novel inspired the “Little Nemecsek” statue, as well as this one on Prater utca 11.

The statue shows a group of boys playing marbles with two other boys watching them menacingly, it depicts the “einstand,” a bullying scene from the novel.  

The location might seem a little obscure, however, it’s the location of the school that the boys attended in the novel.

Looking closely, there are several fun little details that bring the sculpture to life, such as the discarded book bag and the coat hung on a nail in the wall. The sculpture was created in 2007 by Peter Szanyi.