The square, renamed in 1927 in honour of
Lajos Kossuth, was previously known by several names including;
Országház tér ("Parliament Square") (1898–1927),
Tömő tér or
Stadt Schopper Platz in
German ("Landfill Square") (1853–1898). This name recalls how the low-lying territory flanking the river, then outside the town of
Pest, was filled with rubbish to raise the level of the ground. The first recorded name was
Stadtischer Auswind Platz ("Unloading Square for the Ships") in 1820. In the second half of the 19th century, great public buildings were erected on the square and it became the symbolic centre of the
Hungarian state. The
Hungarian Parliament Building is located on the square. Facing the parliament building is the Palace of Justice and the Ministry of Agriculture Building. After
World War II, a temporary bridge across the Danube, Kossuth híd, was built between Lajos Kossuth Square and
Batthyány Square, and functioned from 1946 until 1960. It was dismantled when most of the permanent
bridges were re-built. It is marked with memorial stones on the Pest and the Buda sides. In its place, a
pontoon bridge was built in 1973 and in 2003, for a few days around
national holidays. From 17 September 2006 Kossuth Square was the scene of the
great anti-government demonstrations against Prime Minister
Ferenc Gyurcsány triggered by the release of Gyurcsány's speech in which he confessed that he had lied to win the 2006 elections. Until 23 October the square was continuously occupied by the demonstrators. After the 23 October riots the police closed off the square with cordons. The long closure of square caused controversy. The cordons were removed only on 19 March 2007. The damaged park was subsequently restored and the square was given back to the public. The square was closed again in 2012 by a decision of the Parliament in order to restore its original, pre-1944 view. The square was reopened in 2014 as a traffic-free zone with a sustainable park, updated tracks for tram No. 2, an underground parking garage, sculptures, and a memorial to the victims of the Kossuth Tér massacre on 25 October 1956. ==Memorials==