The monuments commemorating the battles at Széna Square were erected after 1989. During the autumn of that year when commemorating the Revolution first became permissible, former participants in these battles erected seven wooden heads in memory of their fallen comrades. Another stone monument was added on October 23, 1991, containing an inscription which reiterated the historical role of the Square during the Revolution. In the mid-1990's the construction of a shopping complex began which is still standing there today, and which became the object of much public criticism. Most importantly, veterans' associations resisted the commercial development of this historical site. In the way of a compromise, another monument depicting a waving national flag made of polished steel was erected after construction ended in 2001. In the centre of this flag the numbers of the year „1956“ can be seen. The flag is held by a prototypical insurgent in an heroic stance. Besides those insurgents associated with Corvin köz, the resistance group at Svéna Square comprises one of the largest and most well-known of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. It was named after one of the most important traffic intersections in Budapest. Already during the siege of the city by the Red Army in 1944/45, violent battles raged in this area due to the strategic significance of the location, battles which would flare up again in 1956. On October 24th/25th, 1956 the first insurgents united at the Széna Platz and proceeded to organise armed resistance in the surrounding streets. Important bases of operations turned out to be the underground shafts for the subway line still under construction at Széna Square, and later, the barracks of the Hungarian Secret Service (ÁHV), which were occupied by force during the final days of October. The intersection was barricaded using automobiles and overturned streetcars. The insurgents went into position in the neighbouring streets, and thus, took control of the Square. János Szábo was chosen as their commander, and later – with the nickname „Uncle Szábo“ - became one of the best-known resistance fighters of the Revolution. The battles between the insurgents, the Hungarian Army and Soviet troops at Széna Square wore on until October 28th, the day on which the cease-fire was announced. During the morning of the very same day, Hungarian troops attempted to storm the Square aided by Soviet units, after negotiations with the insurgents for an end to the fighting had failed. An agreement made between the insurgents and the troops stationed there managed to achieve an armistice on October 29th. During the following days, the insurgents and contingents of the Hungarian Army cooperated together, whereby the latter assumed responsibility for training young fighters. Part of the armed units joined forces with the National Guard, which had formed on October 30th. During the armistice, the most strategically significant buildings of the city quarter were occupied, such as the offices of the Party Committee, the Statistics Centre, and the private residences of party functionaries who had fled the country. The Secret Service (ÁHV) barracks, already mentioned before, were chosen as a new headquarters. A first occurrence took place on November 2nd, as a group of insurgents – acting on erroneous information – stormed the Foreign Ministry in the vicinity. It was only after the intervention of Bela Király, Minister of Defence in the Nagy government, that the siege could be ended without any loss of life. As the second wave of Soviet troops arrived on November 4th, the insurgents retreated to Széna Square and were only able to resist the advancing forces for a brief period, due to the great difference in troop size. Some of the insurgents attempted to abandon Budapest, but were shortly thereafter worn down and arrested. Nonetheless, many succeeded in escaping abroad. Among those insurgents remaining in Budapest, 14 were sentenced to death and executed, while more than 100 received predominantly long-term prison sentences.