The square was named after Márai in the framework of Kosice's 2013 European Capital of Culture programme, where the author’s statue stands since 2004. Hungary's Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog and his Slovakian colleague Dušan Čaplovič spoke at the ceremony.

Márai never allowed himself to be exiled from his past, from his heritage. This gave dignity to his life, Minister Balog stated, with Minister Čaplovič adding that Márai was always true to himself and his hometown, even though he lived in very difficult times.

Sándor Márai, the author of Embers and Esther's Inheritance, left Hungary on the eve of communist dictatorship in 1948. He first went to Italy, and then settled in New York. He returned to Italy in 1968, but spent the last ten years of his life in San Diego, United States. After 1989 his works have been republished in several languages all around the world.

(MTI; Ministry of Human Resources)