(Vienna, 03 July 2024) As part of his state visit to Austria today, Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok stopped at the Semmelweis statue at MedUni Vienna, which was unveiled in 2019, and laid a wreath. Ignaz Semmelweis is regarded as a "pioneer of hygiene" and remains unforgotten as a fighter for medical progress.
President Tamás Sulyok was welcomed to the wreath-laying ceremony at MedUni Vienna by Rector Markus Müller.
Born in Budapest in 1818 and working in Vienna, Ignaz Semmelweis introduced strict hand hygiene regulations at Vienna's first maternity clinic in 1847, despite all opposition. This enabled him to significantly reduce the mortality rate from childbed fever. Semmelweis' achievements were initially underestimated and only after his death at the age of 47 were they recognized accordingly.
About the Ignaz Semmelweis statue
The monument was unveiled as a gift from Semmelweis University Budapest to mark the 200th birthday of Ignaz Semmelweis in 2019. The statue was designed by Hungarian sculptor Péter Párkányi Raab as a tribute to the man who "saved wives for their husbands and mothers for their children".