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Going North from the main square, towards the Main Railway Station, we cannot pass by Batthány Street without talking about some hidden gems and those lost to history. 

Batthány Street is named after Count Lajos Batthyány (1807-1849) who was the first Prime Minister of Hungary, he was born in Bratislava, Slovakia and was later executed by firing squad in Pest on 6 October 1849, the same day as the 13 Martyrs of Arad.

Until the middle of the 19th century,  the street was called Kis-Varga Street, and then  “Harmincados köz” (“thirtieth” in English). The name used to refer to the fact that the royal tax office was located there. 

There are many wonderful travel guides about Debrecen, but few about the important places of this city in the context of history. This article focuses on the history of the old town square of Debrecen.

Kossuth Square.

Over time Debrecen has changed, just like any city, as to how much is open to interpretation and your own perspective.  The tram lines have been a long term fixture of Kossuth Square, which was once a green oasis. Gardeners created plant islands in every corner of the square. 

Dominating the Kossuth Square is the most famous symbol of the city, the Reformed Great Church. Before it was built, in the 13th Century, St. Andrew Church stood in its place, built by the Dósa family.  Later in the 16th century, St. Andrew Church was destroyed by fire and rebuilt again in the gothic style.

The main street of Debrecen, known as Piac street, was once lined with trading houses, and it remained a centre of trade and for hundreds of years. The very first multi-floor dwellings of the town were built here. While the buildings are of simple construction, their facades have many beautiful decorations that deserve special attention.

One of these buildings is the Rickl House at No. 39-41 on Piac Street. The great-grandfather of the world-famous author Magda Szabó (from her mom’s side), József Rickl, was a German merchant, he built this classicist building for his renowned supermarket and his family in the 1820s.

The building bearing the name Zenede has a long illustrious history associated with music culture and music education, mostly because of the ties to the man that the building is named after, the composer and the children’s educator Zoltán Kodály.

Today the building is home to the Zoltán Kodály Vocational Secondary School of Music, a fitting legacy since he was deeply devoted to the importance of music in children’s education. He became world-famous for inventing a music teaching method that has been used ever since, all over the world to teach children music.

Every square meter of Debrecen’s downtown has something of a cultural and historical significance. If you want to get to know the city, you should open your eyes and discover its hidden treasures beyond the obvious sights. To help you see beyond the obvious we have collected for you the most beautiful gates in Debrecen with the help of architect Attila Harangi and photographer Viktor Löki.

1. Reformed Great Church

The emblem of Debrecen represents Puritan Classicism in Calvinist Rome. The largest Reformed Church in the country was built between 1805 and 1821  according to the plans of Mihály Péchy. The Reformed Great Church was built on the foundation walls of the medieval Gothic-style church of St. Andrew, which was completely destroyed in the devastating fire in 1802. The impressive gate ornament of the church reflects the ancient heritage of Debrecen. If you visit Reformed Great Church, take time to appreciate the massive copper handle with intricate symbols.

March 14th, marks the Jubilee Season of Debrecen Amusement Park, which has opened every day of the week from May 1st since the first opening back in 1960. Debrecen Amusement Park remains the only permanent Amusement park in Hungary.

To embrace tradition, while also catering to those looking for new thrills, the repertoire will include both timeless classics and awesome new novelties.

In addition to the careful maintenance of park equipment, several rides have also undergone a visual overhaul and now await the season start in their full glory. Cherished for their great history and beautiful craftsmanship, the magnificent steeds of the Horse Carousel are now as good as new, and so is the Duck Train, a true family favorite.

The country is most familiar with Debrecen as a “cívis” city, but in fact, many of the smaller settlements in the Great Plain used the term “cívis”.

According to the Lexicon of Ethnography, the “cívis város” (“cívis city) is the “distinctive name of the great market towns of the Great Plain, which obtained or approached the status of free royal towns, but whose citizenship consisted mainly of peasant farmers”.

According to Árpád Kálnási, linguist, the “cívis” people were a so-called peasant citizen, but not only peasants but artisans also belonged to this group. The “cívis” people were engaged in agriculture and crafts, but in their spare time, they went to the theater and were enthusiastic donors. They did not produce more than was needed for their own use, and they only sold their products on the market when money was needed.

The earliest known map of Debrecen is from 1750, which shows the town surrounded by a plank and gates. This map is important because it also contains street names of that time. A new online “street name” database shows street names now and in the past, which indicating the origins of street names in Debrecen.

Let see some interesting facts about the streets of Debrecen .

Over the years Piac Street has had many names including Piac Square in 1564, Ferenc József Road from 1898 to 1915 and the “Red Army Path”  from 1990 until the end of the regime.

If you know of Debrecen, even just a little, you would most probably think of images of the impressive Great Reformed Church dominating the central Kossuth Square and the Art Deco and socialism period buildings surrounding it. However, there is much more to Debrecen, so much to discover and celebrate in History. 

See some of the most famous days to celebrate in Debrecen’s past:

• On the 11th January 1860 – After the uprising in 1848, began a long period of repression of the Hungarian peoples by the Vienna government.  The protestant church was singled out for extensive measures referred to as the “Protestant Patent” which were designed to weaken the power base of the protestant movement. The members of the Protestant parish assembly held in Debrecen on January 11th 1860 rejected the Protestant Patent a move which ultimately led to a change in direction by the Austrians and May 15, 1860, the royal manuscript arrived, restoring the church to its pre- 1848 status.

“Your city is perfect only if it has a spa,” said Abu Syr, the Arab historian.

A possible explanation for the origin of the word “spa” is the healing power of water. Debrecen is indeed fortunate with aplenty of spas!  Historically, the spa experience in Europe was centered on the “bath culture”, a patient would spend a few days or weeks in center like Debrecen using medicinal waters to treat or prevent certain illnesses.

In the 1950s, the spa experience was interpreted as a clinical activity but were rebranded as “beauty farms” took over later, using a variety of medicinal water therapies, along with strict exercise and diet.

Today, the modern spa experience is a pampering and pleasant stay in Debrecen and in a beautiful environment with healthy and tasty food. Water is still an important component of the spa experience, but the modern spa provides health services for body and soul.

In Debrecen, you can choose from spa treatments, “lifestyle programs”, and relaxing experiences in a wide range of spa and wellness hotels a selection of which are below.

Just like any other city, Debrecen has its own dark history with scandals, intrigues, violence and murder which make for interesting stories. A far cry from what today’s Debrecen which must be one of the safest cities in Hungary.  There are several interesting buildings and streets in the city that tell some scandalous stories.

Petőfi Square, the Little Chicago of Debrecen

Petőfi Square started to play an important role in the life of the city only in the second half of the 19th century, but before this time it was used as a dumping ground. With the construction of the railroad, it became popular, but it was never an upper-class neighbourhood, but rather the “entertainment center” of the working class. It was also called “Little Chicago”. 

The Kossuth Hotel stood at the corner of what is now Elizabeth Street, operated as a reputable place at first. Later it was seen as a dangerous inn because if the guest did not pay, they would throw them out onto the street or search their wallet while he slept. 

On the street known as Késes, (translates as Knife in English) located behind a 24 story building the street was probably named after the knife makers located there, but a far more interesting story arose that quickly became widespread, that it was named so because of stabbings there.

The Klinika Club (Clinic University Club) will receive a commemorative pop music plaque in November.

Prior to becoming a movie theater, the building of the Klinika Klub was a university funeral home, offering funeral services during the 1950s.  Later that decade it was turned into a movie theater by the order of Mátyás Rákosi, a Hungarian communist politician, in order to serve the entertainment needs of the university staff.

During the 1960s, university beat bands discovered it and started to use it as a music venue and club. Between 1971 and 1975, the DOTE band rehearsed and performed here, and two cult bands of the city, Color and Panta Rhei, also started their career here. 

In the mid-90s, Zsolt Jantyik, the frontman of the PG Group led the club. He planned to re-launch the club with a one-week non-stop series, which eventually took two and a half months. There was a concert every night for seventy-five days. 

In the second half of the 1990s, practically almost all leading Hungarian music bands performed in the club.

Today, the club still hosts diverse performances and concerts. You can find the current programs here.