Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Side profile of the bomb prototype.
Petwood Hotel Bouncing Bomb
RAF Harrington
RAF Harrington
The Beaux-arts interior with Pool layout still visible.
Écomusée du fier monde
Village du Livre de Fontenoy-la-Joûte
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è pasta... E pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
The gnocchi here get blanketed in a sugo with braised oxtail.
Cesare al Pellegrino
Romans insist you should feel the cracked peppercorns and cheese grains on your tongue.
Flavio al Velavevodetto
Tripe is fried to a crisp.
L’Osteria della Trippa
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
People paddling in their wooden canoes on one of the lakes near the Allagash Waterway in the north woods in Maine
The Allagash Abductions: This State Park’s Most Famous Visitors ... Are Aliens?
about 17 hours ago
The rocky Revere Beach coast in Revere, Massachusetts, just outside Boston.
Which Places With Bad Raps Are Actually Worth Visiting?
1 day ago
A dugong displays the telltale “smile.”
Saving the Sea Cows of Vanuatu
1 day ago
The first photo of the “woolly devil” made a stir among botanists when Deb Manley uploaded it to iNaturalist in March 2024.
How the Woolly Devil, Member of a New Plant Genus, Was Discovered on a Hike in Big Bend
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Hungary Budapest Shoes on the Danube Promenade

Shoes on the Danube Promenade

A trail of iron footwear stands as a monument to the thousands executed along this riverbank during WWII.

Budapest, Hungary

Added By
alisakennedy11
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Shoes on the Danube   alisakennedy11 / Atlas Obscura User
Shoes on the Danube   alisakennedy11 / Atlas Obscura User
Shoes on the Danube   alisakennedy11 / Atlas Obscura User
Shoes on the Danube   alisakennedy11 / Atlas Obscura User
By Dr Chris Stout   drchrisstout / Atlas Obscura User
  MiguelPoli / Atlas Obscura User
  Renoirs Travels / Atlas Obscura User
  stephaniewade56 / Atlas Obscura User
  stephaniewade56 / Atlas Obscura User
  greggc80 / Atlas Obscura User
  coljay72 / Atlas Obscura User
  coljay72 / Atlas Obscura User
  Aty Trocious / Atlas Obscura User
  Aty Trocious / Atlas Obscura User
  gigglingiguana / Atlas Obscura User
  gigglingiguana / Atlas Obscura User
  gigglingiguana / Atlas Obscura User
  Luis Morato / Atlas Obscura User
  matthewmetcalfe / Atlas Obscura User
  Nan Palmero
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
  Nikodem Nijaki on Wiki
  jedbutler1963 / Atlas Obscura User
Into the darkness   ritakdrew / Atlas Obscura User
  elsa brante / Atlas Obscura User
  breaingram / Atlas Obscura User
By Dr Chris Stout   drchrisstout / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In October of 1944, Hitler overthrew the leader of the Hungarian government, Miklos Horthy, and replaced him with Ferenc Szalasi.

Szalasi, whose ideology closely followed Hitler’s, immediately established the Arrow Cross Party - a fascist, anti-semitic organization that brutally and publicly terrorized the Jews in Budapest by beating and killing them. Nearly 80,000 Jews were expelled from Hungary in a death march to the Austrian border and approximately 20,000 Jews were brutally shot along the banks of the Danube River. The victims were forced to remove their shoes at gunpoint (shoes being a valuable commodity during World War II) and face their executioner before they were shot without mercy, falling over the edge to be washed away by the freezing waters.

Shoes on the Danube Promenade is a haunting tribute to this horrific time in history, created by film director Can Togay and the sculptor, Gyula Pauer. Installed along the bank of the Danube River in Budapest, the monument consists of 60 pairs of 1940s-style shoes, true to life in size and detail, sculpted out of iron.

This memorial is simple yet chilling, depicting the shoes left behind by the thousands of Jews who were murdered by the Arrow Cross. The style of footwear - a man’s work boot; a business man’s loafer; a woman’s pair of heels; even the tiny shoes of a child - were chosen specifically to illustrate how no one, regardless of age, gender, or occupation was spared. Placed in a casual fashion, as if the people just stepped out of them, these little statues are a grim reminder of the souls who once occupied them - yet they also create a beautiful place of reflection and reverence.

At three points along the memorial are cast iron signs with the following text in Hungarian, English, and Hebrew: "To the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944–45. Erected 16 April 2005."

Related Tags

Monuments Shoes World War Ii Military

Know Before You Go

Located along the edge of the Danube River, on the Pest side, just south of the Hungarian Parliament Building. Go there before sunset time, the views are great with the sun dropping down and the lights of the city coming out.

Community Contributors

Added By

alisakennedy11

Edited By

hrnick, emorata, Rachel, elsa brante...

  • hrnick
  • emorata
  • Rachel
  • elsa brante
  • jedbutler1963
  • ritakdrew
  • Luis Morato
  • matthewmetcalfe
  • rbenn250
  • breaingram
  • gigglingiguana
  • nanpalmero
  • drchrisstout
  • Aty Trocious
  • stephaniewade56
  • greggc80
  • jlord7
  • coljay72
  • MiguelPoli
  • Renoirs Travels

Published

November 13, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/newsletter/31/shoes.asp
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoes_on_the_Danube_Bank
  • http://visitbudapest.travel/articles/one-of-budapests-most-moving-memorials-shoes-on-the-danube/
  • http://travelphotodiscovery.com/best-places-to-photograph-budapest-hungary/
  • http://jetsettingfools.com/budapest-on-a-tight-budget/
Shoes on the Danube Promenade
18 Id. Antall József rkp.
Budapest, 1052
Hungary
47.50397, 19.044837
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Adria Palace

Budapest, Hungary

miles away

Bullet Hole Markers at the Ministry of Agriculture Building

Budapest, Hungary

miles away

Ronald Reagan Statue in Budapest

Budapest, Hungary

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Budapest

Budapest

Hungary

Places 71
Stories 2

Nearby Places

Adria Palace

Budapest, Hungary

miles away

Bullet Hole Markers at the Ministry of Agriculture Building

Budapest, Hungary

miles away

Ronald Reagan Statue in Budapest

Budapest, Hungary

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Budapest

Budapest

Hungary

Places 71
Stories 2

Related Places

  • Free French Memorial with views across Greenock and Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

    Greenock, Scotland

    Free French Memorial Cross

    A war memorial dedicated to the Free French Naval forces of World War II.

  • Monumento ai Lupi di Toscana

    San Giovanni di Duino, Italy

    Monumento ai Lupi di Toscana

    Two bronze wolves atop this large rock honor the "Wolves of Tuscany" brigade of World War I.

  • Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland

    Knockagh Monument

    High on a hill, an obelisk stands as tribute to local soldiers from several wars.

  • De Leidse Zeemijn

    Leiden, Netherlands

    De Leidse Zeemijn (Leiden's Naval Mine)

    The remnants of a WWI naval mine that once terrorized the country now decorates a street.

  • The war-damaged utility pole of Misuji.

    Tokyo, Japan

    War-Damaged Utility Pole Monument

    A sad reminder of the World War II bombing stands largely unnoticed on a street corner.

  • The borne at St Mere Eglise

    Sainte-Mère-Église, France

    La voie de la Liberté Markers

    These unique markers designate the route American forces took during the Liberation of France.

  • Wunden der Erinnerung (Wounds of Memory), LMU Library

    Munich, Germany

    Wunden der Erinnerung (Wounds of Memory), LMU Library

    The scars of World War II are preserved on its walls.

  • The memorial.

    Bologna, Italy

    Monument to Fallen Partisans

    A striking memorial recalls thousands of Bolognese men and women killed fighting fascists in World War II.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.