Debrecen

Debrecen is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and it is one of the Hungarian people's most important cultural centres. Debrecen was also the capital city of Hungary during the revolution in 1848–1849. During the revolution, the dethronement of the Habsburg dynasty was declared in the Reformed Great Church. The city also served as the capital of Hungary by the end of World War II in 1944–1945. It is home to the University of Debrecen.

Etymology

There are at least three narratives of the origin of the city's name. The city is first documented in 1235, as Debrezun. One theory states that the name derives from the Turkic word debresin, which means 'live' or 'move.' Another theory says the name is of Slavic origin and means 'well-esteemed', from Slavic Dьbricinъ or from dobre zliem. Thirdly and lastly, Professor Šimon Ondruš derived the toponym from Proto-Slavic term .
The standard Romanian name for the city is Debrețin; however, Romanian communities in Hungary use the version Dobrițân.

History

The settlement was established after the Hungarian conquest. Debrecen became more important after some of the small villages of the area were deserted due to the Mongol invasion of Europe. It experienced rapid development after the middle of the 13th century.
In 1361, Louis I of Hungary granted the citizens of Debrecen the right to choose the town's judge and council. This provided some opportunities for self-government for the town. By the early 16th century, Debrecen was an important market town.
King Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, as part of a treaty with Serbian ruler Stefan Lazarević, gave him the opportunity to rule Debrecen in September 1411. A year after Lazarević's death in 1426, his role was taken over by his successor, Đurađ Branković. Between 1450 and 1507, it was a domain of the Hunyadi family.
During the Ottoman period, being close to the border and having no castle or city walls, Debrecen often found itself in difficult situations and the town was saved only by the diplomatic skills of its leaders. Sometimes the town was protected by the Ottoman Empire, sometimes by the Catholic European rulers or by Francis II Rákóczi, prince of Transylvania. Debrecen later embraced the Protestant Reformation quite early, earning the monikers of "the Calvinist Rome" and "the Geneva of Hungary". At this period the inhabitants of the town were mainly Hungarian Calvinists. Debrecen came under Ottoman control as a sanjak between 1558 and 1693 and orderly bounded to the eyalets of Budin, Eğri and Varat as "Debreçin".
In 1693, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor elevated Debrecen to free royal town status. In 1715, the Roman Catholic Church returned to Debrecen, and the town gave it a place to build a church, allowing the Piarist monks to build the St. Ann's Cathedral. By this time the town was an important cultural, commercial and agricultural centre, and many future scholars and poets attended its Protestant College.
In 1849, Debrecen was the capital of Hungary for a short time when the Hungarian revolutionary government fled there from Pest-Buda. In April 1849, the dethronization of Habsburgs and the independence of Hungary was proclaimed here by Lajos Kossuth at the Great Church The last battle of the war of independence was also close to Debrecen. The Russians, allied to Habsburgs, defeated the Hungarian army close to the western part of the town.
After the war, Debrecen slowly began to prosper again. In 1857, the railway line between Budapest and Debrecen was completed, and Debrecen soon became a railway junction. New schools, hospitals, churches, factories, and mills were built, banks and insurance companies settled in the city. The appearance of the city began to change too: with new, taller buildings, parks and villas, it no longer resembled a provincial town and began to look like a modern city. In 1884, Debrecen became the first Hungarian city to have a steam tramway.
After World War I, Hungary lost a considerable portion of its eastern territory to Romania, and Debrecen once again became situated close to the border of the country. It was occupied by the Romanian army for a short time in 1919. Tourism provided a way for the city to begin to prosper again. Many buildings were built in the central park, the Nagyerdő, providing recreational facilities. The building of the university was completed. Hortobágy, a large pasture owned by the city, became a tourist attraction.
During World War II, Debrecen was almost completely destroyed, 70% of the buildings suffered damage, 50% of them were completely destroyed. A major battle involving combined arms, including several hundred tanks, occurred near the city in October 1944. Debrecen was captured by Soviet troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front on 20 October. After 1944, the reconstruction began and Debrecen became the capital of Hungary for a short time once again. The citizens began to rebuild their city, trying to restore its pre-war status, but the new, Communist government of Hungary had other plans. The institutions and estates of the city were taken into public ownership, private property was taken away. This forced change of the old system brought new losses to Debrecen; half of its area was annexed to nearby towns, and the city also lost its rights over Hortobágy. In 1952, two new villages – Ebes and Nagyhegyes – were formed from former parts of Debrecen, while in 1981, the nearby village Józsa was annexed to the city.

Demographics

Languages

According to the 2011 census, the total population of Debrecen were 211,320, of whom 209,782 people spoke Hungarian. 49,909 also knew English, 22,454 German, and 5,416 could speak Russian.

Ethnic groups

According to the 2011 census, there were 177,435 Hungarians, 1,305 Romani, 554 Germans and 504 Romanians in Debrecen. 31,931 people did not declare their ethnicity. Excluding these people Hungarians made up 98.9% of the total population. In Hungary people can declare more than one ethnicity, so the sum of ethnicities is higher than the total population.

Nationality

Population

Germany

Religion

According to the 2011 census, there were 52,459 Hungarian Reformed, 23,413 Latin Catholic, 10,762 Greek Catholic, 899 Baptist, 885 Jehovah's Witnesses, and 812 Lutheran in Debrecen. 54,909 people were irreligious, 3,877 atheist, while 59,955 people did not declare their religion.

Reformed Church in Debrecen

From the 16th century, the Reformation took roots in the city; first Lutheranism, then Calvin's teachings become predominant. From 1551, the Calvinist government of the city forbade Catholics from moving to Debrecen. Catholic churches were taken over by the Calvinist church. The Catholic faith vanished from the city until 1715 when it regained a church. Several Calvinist church leaders like Peter Melius Juhasz who translated the Genevan Psalms lived and worked here. In 1567, a synod was formed in the city when the Second Helvetic Confession was adopted. Famous Calvinist colleges and schools were formed. Nickname of Debrecen commonly used in Hungary is the Calvinist Rome or the Geneva of Hungary because of the great percentage of the Calvinist faith in the city as well as the Calvinist church has significant influence in the city and the region. Debrecen is also home to the Reformed Theological University of Debrecen, founded in 1538 and was the only Calvinist theological institute in the country permitted to function during the communist rule.
The Hungarian Reformed Church has about 20 congregations in Debrecen, including the famous Reformed Great Church of Debrecen, which can easily accommodate about 5000 people.

Jewish community

Jews were first allowed to settle in Debrecen in 1814, with an initial population count of 118 men within 4 years.
Twenty years later, they were allowed to purchase land and homes. By 1919, they consisted 10% of the population and owned almost half of the large properties in and around the town.
The Hungarian antisemitic laws of 1938 caused many businesses to close, and in 1939 many Jews were enslaved and sent to Ukraine, where many died in minefields.
In 1940, the Germans estimated that 12,000 Jews were left in the town. In 1941, Jews of Galician and Polish origin were expelled, reducing the number of Jews to 9142. In 1942, more Jews were drafted into the Hungarian forced labor groups and sent to Ukraine.
German forces entered the city on 20 March 1944, ordering a Judenrat headed by Rabbi Pal Weisz, and a Jewish police squad was formed, headed by former army captain Bela Lusztbaum. On 30 March 1944, the Jews were ordered to wear the Yellow star of David. Jewish cars were confiscated and phone lines cut. During the Passover week, many Jewish dignitaries were taken to a nearby prison camp, eventually reaching the number of 300 prisoners. A week later all Jewish stores were closed, and a public book-burning of Jewish books was presided over by the antisemitic newspaper editor Mihaly Kalosvari Borska.
An order to erect a ghetto was issued on 28 April 1944, in the name of the town mayor Sandor Kolscey, who opposed the act, and was ousted by the Germans. Jews were forced to build the Ghetto walls, finishing it within less than a month on 15 May 1944.
On 7 June 1944, all movement in or out of the Ghetto was prohibited and a week later all Debrecen Jews were deported to the nearby Serly brickyards, and stripped of their belongings, joining Jews from other areas.
Ten families of prominent Jews, including those of Rabbi Weisz and orthodox chief Rabbi Strasser, along with the heads of the Zionist movement joined the Kasztner train. 298 of these Debrecen Jews were shot by the SS in Bavaria, after being told they would reach Theresienstadt. Some young Debrecen Jews escaped the town, led by the high school principal Adoniyahu Billitzer and reached Budapest, joining resistance movements and partisans.
Most of the remaining Debrecen Jews were deported to Auschwitz, reaching there on 3 July 1944.
Debrecen was occupied by the Soviet Army on 20 October 1944. Some 4,000 Jews of Debrecen and its surroundings survived the war, creating a community of 4,640 in 1946 – the largest in the region. About 400 of those moved to Israel, and many others moved to the west by 1970, with 1,200 Jews left in the town, using two synagogues, one of them established before World War I.