When strolling down the sloping pedestrian Kossuth Street, approaching the Hangvilla in the modern downtown of Veszprém, it is well worth keeping an eye on the left side of the street, where we are greeted by a cheerful little scene in the form of a mini sculpture.
A tiny street musician sits here on his large travelling suitcase, whistling merrily as he holds his snail shell instrument in his lap. This amusing little sculpture is the work of Ukrainian-Hungarian sculptor Mihály Kolodko, who is famous for his lively miniatures. The Street Musician was even given a name of its own: the locals christened him Ödön. Ödön quickly became popular upon his arrival in Veszprém: people enjoy taking photos with him, dressing him up in warm clothes in the winter and giving him a straw hat to protect him from sunstroke in the summer. The artist deliberately chose this precise location for his sculpture. The tiny Street Musician found its permanent stage near the Hangvilla, the largest concert hall in Veszprém, on Kossuth Street, the main venue of the Street Music Festival. The Street Musician is a symbol of the city’s strong ties to music, as Veszprém was awarded the title of City of Music by UNESCO in 2019. Made of limestone and bronze, the Street Musician was the second in a series of mini-sculptures made by Mihály Kolodko in Veszprém, all of which were completed in 2020. It’s well worth having a look at the other two as well: the Guard, and the Girl and the Lion.
