The Hungarian authorities decided in 1894 to raise a bronze statue in the memory of Matei Corvin, to commemorate 450 years from his birth and 400 years from his death.

Born in Cluj, Matei Corvin was the second son of the Romanian leader Iancu de Hunedoara, former king of Hungary, and Elisabeta Szilagy. The name “Corvin” derives from his heraldinc bearings, displaying a raven (corvus, in latin). Matei ruled Hungary between 1458, when he was made a king at the age of 15, until 1490. Yet he was crowned later, in 1464. In 1485, he and his army reached Vienna, and established there the capital city of his kingdom. Known as a reputed and feared fighter against the Ottomans, Matei Corvin also contributed to a great extent to the prosperity of his town helping at the (re)construction of many churches (including St. Michael’s Cathedral) and granting the citizens many economic privileges.

The statue was designed by Fadrusz Janos, whose work of art won the Great prize of the Paris World Exhibition, in 1900. Unveiled in 1902, it was inaugurated as the statue of “Mathias, king of Hungary”. After the liberation of the country in 1944, its name was changed to “King Matei Corvin”, renamed by historian Daicoviciu, as “Mathias Rex”.

A close look at the statue reveals the presence, among the generals who surrender to Matei Corvin, of a Moldavian general, although he was defeated, at Baia (1467), by Stephen the Great, the ruler of Moldavia. The authorities plan to restore as soon as possible the statue and its socle, which is made of armed concrete and is affected by the changes in weather.