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Have you already purchased Christmas presents? If you haven’t, you can surprise your loved ones with one of these great gift ideas, straight from Debrecen.

The preparation for this year’s Advent has been different from previous years due to the pandemic situation, the streets, and squares, once full of people are empty, and instead of the pulsating city life and buzz, this year silence is the dominating feature in Debrecen. 

However, this does not mean that we have to give up experiencing joy, hope and gratitude, only this time we must do so in a different ways.

COVID-19 and the need for social distancing has placed greater importance on isolation and entertaining oneself indoors with familiar faces, and yet, with winter inactivity it is important to push yourself to be active and outdoors as much as possible despite the cold.  Below are 6 great walks that can be completed in about an hour or so, depending on whether you get side tracked by the great restaurants listed, all of which have outdoor seating if you can stand the cold long enough for a hot drink or snack.

On August 19, 1989, a symbolic picnic to promote European Unity on the Austria-Hungarian border (at Sopron) became known as the event that led to the fall of the Iron Curtain, forever recorded as one of history’s great moments.  Much of the planning of this event took place in Debrecen by Mária Filep and her co-organisers.

This year has been a difficult year, especially now that theaters, cinemas, museums and restaurants have closed, events cancelled or postponed and curfews are making it difficult for us to move around. 

“A box of love and cooperation for Debrecen – Give more” – A help the needy donation point, was handed over on December 3rd at the main entrance of the Kölcsey Center.

Join the concert of the Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra and Dániel Somogyi-Tóth online, live from the Great Hall of the Kölcsey Center at 7.30 PM on 8th December.

Music lovers can listen to all the great classical music written in D major.

The most important moments of the change of regime in Hungary are evoked by the public installation called Hypercube, which can be seen at Baltazár Dezső Square (the square in the front of Modem and Kölcsey Centre). 

The traveling exhibition commemorates both the local and national events 30 years ago.

Due to the pandemic it has been decided that it is impossible to organize the Advent Concerts of the Reformed Great Church in the usual way.  However, the organizers are still to make sure that the audience will not be left wanting for a Christmas musical experience this year.

Following the successful developments of recent years, the Aquaticum SPA hotel and spa complex will soon be expanded with additional investment. In addition, a new hotel is opening in the city center.

The new Aquaticum Debrecen Water park in the Great Forest was a great success during its opening summer. This was despite the fact that it could have been kept open longer into the autumn due to the warm weather. The number of visitors was higher than expected, CEO of Debreceni Vagyonkezelő Zrt. Virág Kocsik-Marossy reported to the local newspaper.  More than 161,000 people visited the beach between June opening and September close.

The traditions of Christmas and Santa in Debrecen mirror those of other cities and countries in Central Europe, which are very different to Western Europe. In Western Europe Santa visits on Christmas Eve, whereas in Central Europe Santa comes on the eve of St Nicolas feast day (5th December) or on the feast day itself on the 6th December.

There are still many things reminiscent of the glorious Anjou era and the emblematic figures of this era in Debrecen for its citizens. One such memento is the part of the city called Mesterfalva, which was the property of “Mester Dózsa”, from whom today’s Mester Street and Dósa Nádor Square are also often named.

Writer, Poet and soldier, Mihály Fazekas (1766-1828) was born in Debrecen on January 6th 1766 and died in Debrecen on February 23rd 1828. On one hand, he was a soldier, an army private for seven years before being commissioned as a Hussar officer, and on the other hand he was someone who was disgusted by warfare and violence of any kind.

On the surface it seems a huge contradiction of character, but to understand the man you need to understand his journey through life.

The Kossuth and Liszt Prize-winning pianist Gergely Bogányi will give a piano concert solo on the evening of December 1st, 7.30 pm in the Great Hall of the Kölcsey Center in Debrecen, which can be followed live online from 7.30 pm.