On Thököly út. 61 a marble woman leans over a balcony, gazing toward a street she will never walk.
Ligeti Miklós sculpted her in 1903, yet locals soon spun stories: she was waiting for a fiancé who never returned, frozen forever in anticipation. Children dared one another to touch the statue, hoping for a blessing in love; adults claimed they saw her glance shift if no one was looking directly.
Over decades, the story grew. By night, the street seemed quieter, the city slower, and tourists passing by felt an inexplicable weight of longing in the air. Some say she blinks when the wind shifts. Others swear they’ve heard faint sobs carried in the alleyways.
Whether one believes the legend or the simple truth of stone artistry, the Kőkedves (Stone Sweetheart) has remained a silent witness to Budapest’s countless stories of love, loss, and longing, perched eternally above a city that moves on below her feet."