Chiselled Freedom

Ernő Horváth

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Hungarian regime change, .CHB presents a historically significant photo exhibition.
The symbolic opening of borders between Hungary and Austria, which took place in the summer of 1989 near the city of Sopron, was one of the most important historical events that accelerated the fall of the Iron Curtain and the end of the Cold War in Europe. The fact that it had a peaceful outcome – as did the opening of the Bornholmer Bridge in the Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg a short time later, on November 9 of the same year – was thanks mainly to the courageous behaviour of the border guards and soldiers stationed there.
Ernő Horváth’s photographs highlight the circumstances of this important historical event by reflecting on the preparations, the process, and the consequences. His works address the international context in which the events took place; at the same time, Horváth allows the Hungarian organisers of the Pan-European picnic, East German refugees, border officials, politicians, historians, and journalists to testify as witnesses in the language of photography.