Budapest, Hungary: István Széchenyi Statue

Someone who has been called "The Greatest Hungarian" is bound to have a statue put up in his honor somewhere in Budapest. In this case, we're talking about Istvan Szechenyi.

Szechenyi grew up in Vienna and fought as a young man in the Napoleonic wars only a handful of years into the 19th century. He stayed in the military until 1826. A native Hungarian, Szechenyi turns his attention to politics from there. He was something of a moderate, working to bring people together in order to improve the nation's economic and social situation. That included the promotion of steamships on the Danube. Szechenyi did quite a bit of writing to further those goals. He supported the construction of the Chain Bridge, the first permanent link between Buda and Pest. 

But the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and Austria's reaction left Szechenyi disspirited. He suffered from depression and dropped out of politics. That led to him committing suicide in 1860 at the age of 68.

It's very awkward for pedestrians to reach this statue, which is located near the waterfront. Sorry about the pole and distance in the photo.