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Two and a half years after its reconstruction, the Aquaticum Debrecen Strand still receives international awards.  The Aquaticum Debrecen Strand is among the awarded buildings in the Green Architecture and Recreational Architecture categories at this year’s Architecture MasterPrize competition.

Autumn has arrived in Debrecen offering the sight of an amazing and colorful urban landscape for both locals and visitors. Due to the many green zones and parks in the city center and the wonderful natural environment of the Nagyerdő (Great Forest), it is worth going to explore Debrecen on a pleasant city tour either with the help of a tour guide or alone.

This year, for the eleventh time, Debreceni Borozó is organising Hungary’s largest rural wine show, the “Debrecen Wine Muster/Tasting” or in Hungarian “Debreceni Bormustra”. This year, nearly 50 wineries will bring their best wines to the event, which have been the best in the wine tests of the Debrecen Wine Magazine. The high-quality social event will take place in the Great Hall of the Kölcsey Centre, where you can comfortably combine the tasting of great wines with an informal chat in the company of your favourite winemaker.

Popular stars of the Hungarian popular music scene will play in Debrecen for the remainder of the year. Renowned and acclaimed artists and bands such as Charlie, who turns 75 this year, Hobo, who have been writing songs for 40 years; the 100-piece Gypsy Orchestra, a unique musical formation, Honeybeast, a popular group among young people; and Budapest Bar, which appeals to almost all generations, – will be in town.

The Advent market will be held in Kossuth Square and the Piac Street pedestrian zone. The fair, which opens on 26th November, will feature a wide range of caterers and vendors offering handicraft products and heart-warming delicacies available for the duration of the Debrecen Advent Fair.

The smell of mulled wine and roasted chestnuts will waft around the huge pine tree, the ice skating rink, and the children’s railway in the main square, and there will also be hundreds of Christmas carol singers to evoke the spirit of Christmases past.

Debrecen’s iconic building, the Reformed Great Church, will also be transformed into a concert venue this Advent. The 15th edition of the Advent Concerts of the Great Church will feature Éva Csepregi, Attila Kökény and Viktor Rakonczai, Attila Dolhai and Luca Dolhai, Vera Tóth and the Budapest Jazz Orchestra, and Erika Miklósa.

The festivities will occur from 26th November for a month in various locations in Debrecen.

The Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra brings us the greatest classics of music literature, week after week. In October and November, they will perform works by Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven, and Mahler, among others. The upcoming concerts will also pay tribute to Zoltán Kodály and Zoltán Kocsis, there will be an unusual children’s concert in the Sziget Blue theme park, and the Modern Art Orchestra and the National Philharmonic Orchestra will be back in town.

On the occasion of the 16th anniversary of MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Art, the exhibition New Mediations opened on 1st October. The exhibition aims to showcase the work of a current international art trend, the online and contemporary art community of Generation Y artists from the UK, Germany, Serbia, and Hungary, independent of geographical boundaries.

Due to the long weekend between 28 October and 1 November, the opening hours of Debrecen’s tourist attractions, sights and museums will be different. Here’s a list of how places to see will be open during the holiday.

Debrecen, the “Calvinist Rome” Failing to explore Debrecen during your visit to Hungary is a heresy like failing to see the Vatican on a Roman holiday. The comparison is absolutely fitting, given that Debrecen is often dubbed the “Calvinist Rome,” thanks to the role it has played in the development of the Reformed faith.

On 31 October 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg that started a series of reforms worldwide in all fields of life. The religious reform movement soon set its foot in Debrecen and the city has become the center of the Hungarian reformation movement.

In 2017 we celebrated the 500th anniversary of reformation and the 450th anniversary of the foundation of the Reformed Church District of the Trans-Tiszanian Region. On the occasion of the memorial year bilingual (Hungarian-English) information boards have been placed on the sites of reformed cultural heritage so visitors can explore the reformed Debrecen along this thematic trail.

Fun things to do with the family on All Saints’ Day, the Day of the Dead in Debrecen, and Halloween!

This year, for the 11th time, the Sehenswert Film Festival will be screening recent films from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

The focus of this year’s selection is on the world of strong women fighting for their rights and freedom: the opening film, Wunderschön (Beautiful), is about them. In some of the films, we are confronted with the difficulties faced by members of the LGBTQ community and people from migrant backgrounds in finding their place in society.

What began as a community jogging event has now become a nationwide, multi-site charity fun run, the third time this year that the initiative has raised awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and the need to help children with leukaemia.

The Leukaemia Foundation’s charity run will again take place in a special place: on Saturday 22nd October, the runners will be able to run in the Hortobágy, the oldest and largest national park in Hungary.

Rednekk BBQ is looking for extreme BBQ’ers and capsaicin fans in Debrecen! If you think you can handle it, and love BBQ food then the place to be is Rednekk BBQ on Saturday 22nd of October. The event is co-organized by Rednekk BBQ & BAR team and Sándor Bogár (Sárréti ChiliFarm).

In the Hortobágy, following an old folk tradition, shepherds and their livestock alike prepare for winter by driving the animals from the pastures of the bush to their winter shelter. Visitors to the event will be able to see the shepherds’ animals up close – Hungarian Racka sheep, Nonius horses, a four-horned buffalo herd, a six-horned Hungarian grey cattle herd – as they pass over the bridge in the company of shepherds, coltmen and goulash lovers.