Mekk Elek

II. District Hungarian Childhood

Mekk Elek comes from the Hungarian puppet-animation TV series «Mekk Elek, az ezermester» (roughly: ’Mekk Elek, the Jack-of-all-Trades’), produced by Pannónia Filmstúdió in 1973 and broadcast from 1974. Screenplay by József Romhányi, characters and sets by Iván Koós. The clumsy billy goat poses as a master craftsman but doesn’t actually understand any of the trades he attempts — every episode ends in chaos.

The figure stands confidently, an electric drill in one hand – in the other a small sign reading "Moszkva tér", a nod to the square's former name (1951 to 2011).

Kolodko didn't choose the spot by chance: Iván Koós, who designed the puppets and sets for the series, lived for 58 years at Széll Kálmán tér 3 – just a few steps from the statue.

The figure seen today is already the second edition: the first version vanished without a trace just weeks after its installation in June 2018 – presumably stolen. Undeterred, Kolodko replaced it by mid-July that same year with a new version, which fans have since affectionately dubbed "Mekk Elek 2.0".

AddressAt the bottom of a staircase at Széll Kálmán tér.

GPS47.506820, 19.025460

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