Money Blower

Pénzfújó

V. District (BELVÁROS-LIPÓTVÁROS) Politics & History

On 1 August 2026, the Hungarian forint turned 80. In 1946 it replaced the pengő, which had collapsed in one of the worst hyperinflation crises in history. The worthless banknotes were literally swept off Budapest's streets with brooms – a surreal image of a currency's end. Kolodko put up his response as early as 4 July 2026, a good three weeks before the actual anniversary.

Kolodko replaces the broom with a leaf blower. What he's blowing away aren't replicas but genuine, historical pengő banknotes from the hyperinflation era – a small tangible piece of history (the notes in the photo I brought and arranged myself for the shot – they aren't part of the original installation).

The figure stands right behind the Hungarian National Bank. Kolodko explains nothing further. He doesn't need to.

While taking photos, several tourists came by to see the still fairly new statue – including two Hungarian couples in a row who still had genuine old pengő notes of their own and also laid them down next to the statue for a photo. Apparently I wasn't the only one with that idea.

AddressSzabadság tér, behind the Hungarian National Bank.

GPS47.503360, 19.052500

Open in OpenStreetMap

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