Languages
According to the 2011 census, the total population of Debrecen were 211,320, of whom 209,782 people (99.3%) spoke Hungarian. 49,909 (23.6%) also knew English, 22,454 (10.6%) German, and 5,416 (2.6%) could speak Russian.
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+Largest groups of foreign population
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! Nationality||| Population (2011)
|-
| || 1,303
|-
| || 739
|-
| || 305
|-
| || 262
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| || 166
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| || 126
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| || 98
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| || 98
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Religion
According to the 2011 census, there were 52,459 (24.8%) Hungarian Reformed (Calvinist), 23,413 (11.1%) Roman Catholic, 10,762 (5.1%) Greek Catholic, 899 (0.4%) Baptist, 885 (0.4%) Jehovah's Witnesses, and 812 (0.4%) Lutheran in Debrecen. 54,909 people (26.0%) were irreligious, 3,877 (1.8%) atheist, while 59,955 people (28.4%) did not declare their religion. 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 (with 3000 seats).
Jewish community
thumb|The main synagogue in the center of the city
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 (with over 10,000 community members listed) 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.
Ten families of prominent Jews, including those of Rabbi Weisz and orthodox chief Rabbi Strasser, along with the heads of the Zionist (non orthodox) movement joined the Kasztner train. (According to some sources, the Strasshoff camps were filled with Jews for negotiations in case the Germans could receive something for releasing these Jews, among them 6841 from Debrecen.) 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.
Climate
Debrecen, typically for its Central European location, has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb bordering on Dfa, Trewartha Dcbo bordering on Dcao). The annual average temperature is , the hottest month in July is , and the coldest month is in January. The annual precipitation is , of which July is the wettest with , while January is the driest with only .
Culture
left|thumb|The main building of the [[University of Debrecen]]
Mainly thanks to the Reformation and the prestigious Reformed College of Debrecen, founded in 1538, Debrecen has been the intellectual and cultural centre of the surrounding area since the 16th century. The College formed into a full-scale university in 1912, and its intellectual life developed a sphere of influence between Eger and Nagyvárad (now Oradea in Romania). In 1949–1950, several departments of the university were shut down, due to Communist takeover, with many students and teachers being expelled. During the decades of the socialist regime, Debrecen had three separate universities: the Kossuth Lajos University of Sciences (KLTE) was the bearer of the College's traditions with its arts and natural science faculties; the Medical University of Debrecen (DOTE) was the main medical school of Eastern Hungary; and the Debrecen University of Agriculture (DATE) was one of the two major agricultural universities of the country besides Gödöllő. The three entities formed the current University of Debrecen in 2000, with several new faculties being formed since the 1990s from the Faculty of Law to the newest addition of the Faculty of Informatics. Its main building, which now almost unanimously belongs to the Faculty of Arts, is still widely recognized work of architecture (mostly thanks to its main building). The university is the largest university in Hungary, has more than 100 departments and is a major research facility in Europe. The university is well known for the cactus research laboratory in the botanic gardens behind the main building.
In the second half of the 19th century, the Debrecen press attracted several notable figures to the city. Endre Ady, Gyula Krúdy, and Árpád Tóth all began their journalistic careers in Debrecen. Prominent literary figures from the city have included Magda Szabó, and . One of Hungary's best known poets, Mihály Csokonai Vitéz, was born and lived in the city. The city's theatre, built in 1865, was named in his honour in 1916, but can trace its roots back to the National Theatre Company founded in Debrecen in 1789, which at first gave performances in the carthouse of an inn. Celebrated actress Lujza Blaha is among those to have performed there.
Debrecen is home to Tankcsapda, one of Hungary's most successful rock bands. There is also a rock school in the city which offers training and mentoring to young musicians. Classic media in the city include the newspaper Napló, two TV channels, a range of local radio stations and several companies and associations producing media material.
thumb|left|200px|The Debrecen Flower Festival (2006)
Debrecen is the site of an important choral competition, the Béla Bartók International Choir Competition, and is a member city of the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing. Every August the city plays host to a flower festival.
Economy
The development of Debrecen is mainly financed by agricultural, health and educational enterprises. The city is the main centre of shopping centres in Eastern Hungary. The Forum Debrecen is the largest shopping centre in the region. Debrecen is one of the most developed cities in Hungary, the regional centre of international companies such as National Instruments, IT Services Hungary, BT, Continental, BMW, CATL and Healthcare Manufacturers (Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Gedeon Richter Plc.).
Location
alt=|thumb|Tram Line 1 at Debrecen Central Station
Debrecen is located on the Great Hungarian Plain, east of Budapest. Situated nearby is the Hortobágy National Park.
Transport
The city used to be somewhat isolated from Budapest, Hungary's main transport hub. However, the completion of the M35 motorway means Budapest can now be reached in under two hours. Debrecen Airport (the second largest in Hungary) has recently undergone modernisation in order to be able to handle more international flights, although almost all flights to and from Hungary still use Budapest's Ferihegy Airport (now called Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport). Cities that can be reached from the Debrecen Airport include Brussels, Eindhoven, London, Malmö, Milan, Tel Aviv, Moscow and Paris. There have also been improvements to some parts of the railway between the capital and Debrecen as part of Hungary's mainly EU-funded National Development Plan for 2004 to 2006.
thumb|A DKV Volvo B9LA-Alfa Cívis 18 at Bethlen Street on Line 13
There are many railway stations in Debrecen, the most significant is the main station of Debrecen, in addition other smaller stations exist, these include Debrecen-Csapókert, Debrecen-Kondoros, Debrecen-Szabadságtelep and Tócóvölgy.
Debrecen's proximity to Ukraine, Slovakia and Romania enables it to develop as an important trade centre and transport hub for the wider international region.
Local transport in the city consists of buses, trolleybuses, and trams. There are two tram lines, five trolleybus lines, and 60 bus lines. It is provided by the DKV (Debreceni Közlekedési Vállalat, or Transport Company of Debrecen). Nearby towns and villages are linked to the city by Hajdú Volán bus services.
Sport
The city's most famous association football club is Debreceni VSC which won the Nemzeti Bajnokság I seven times, the last one in 2014. Debreceni VSC also known at international level since they reached the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League group stage and the 2010-11 UEFA Europa League group stage. The club's newly built stadium was opened in 2014, where the club could celebrate their seventh title by winning the 2014-15 Nemzeti Bajnokság I. The stadium is also the occasional home of the Hungary national football team. The team hosted Denmark in 2014 and Lithuania in 2015.
The city had other association football clubs competing in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I. One of them was Bocskai FC who could also won the Magyar Kupa once in 1930. The other club from the city was Dózsa MaDISz TE who competed in the 1945-46 Nemzeti Bajnokság I.
The city has hosted several international sporting events in recent years, such as the second World Youth Championships in Athletics in July 2001 and the first IAAF World Road Running Championships in October 2006. The 2007 European SC Swimming Championships and World Artistic Gymnastics Championships of 2002 also took place in Debrecen. Most recently, the city hosted the 19th FAI World Hot Air Balloon Championship in October 2010. In 2012, Debrecen hosted the 31st LEN European Swimming Championships.
The Debrecen Speedway team race at the Perényi Pál Salakmotor Stadion in the south of the city. The stadium also regularly hosts international events including qualifying rounds of the Speedway World Cup and the Speedway European Championship.
Association football
- Debreceni VSC (competing in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I)
- Bocskai FC (defunct)
- Dózsa MaDISz TE (defunct)
- Debreceni EAC
Main sights
- City Downtown
- Reformed Great Church (Nagytemplom)
- City Park (Nagyerdő) and spa
- Déri Museum (art collection including paintings of Mihály Munkácsy; also has a collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts, and weapons from Europe, the Middle East and Far East)
- Flower Carnival of Debrecen held on 20 August every year
- "Hortobágy" mill
- Nagyerdei Stadion (the home football stadium of the association football club Debreceni VSC)
- Ravatalozó (cemetery)
- Csokonai theatre
<gallery mode="packed" heights="140px">
File:"Hortobágy" szélmalom (5221. számú műemlék).jpg|Malom Hotel (former „Hortobágy” mill)
File:Ravatalozó (5220. számú műemlék).jpg|Ravatalozó in Art Nouveau architectural style
File:I. Belklinika 1.jpg|Heritage building in (Nagyerdő)
File:Déri Múzeum (5226. számú műemlék) 6.jpg|Déri Museum
File:Debrecen_csokonai_szinhaz.jpg|Csokonai theatre
</gallery>
Politics
The current mayor of Debrecen is Dr. László Papp (Fidesz-KDNP).
The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2024 local government elections, is made up of 33 members (1 Mayor, 23 Individual constituencies MEPs and 9 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:
{| class="wikitable"
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! style="background:#ccc" colspan="24" | Current Municipal Assembly
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|Fidesz-KDNP
| style="text-align: right" | 24
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| Civil Forum Debrecen
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List of mayors
List of City Mayors from 1990:
{| class=wikitable
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! colspan=2 | Party
! Term of office
|-
| József Hevessy
| style="background-color:" |
| SZDSZ
| 1990–1998
|-
| Lajos Kósa
| style="background-color:" |
| Fidesz (-KDNP)
| 1998–2014
|-
| László Papp
| style="background-color:" |
| Fidesz-KDNP
| 2014–
|}
Notable people
Born in Debrecen
- Emma Adler (1858–1935), writer
- Lorenzo Alvary (1909–1996), operatic bass
- Ferenc Barnás (born 1959), novelist
- Zsolt Baumgartner (born 1981), first Hungarian Formula One driver
- Mihály Csokonai Vitéz (1773–1805), poet
- Sari Dienes (1898–1992), artist
- Éva Fahidi (1925–2023), Auschwitz survivor
- Mihály Fazekas (1766–1828), writer
- Mihály Flaskay (born 1982), breaststroke swimmer
- Nóra Görbe, (born 1956), actress, singer and pop icon
- Meshulam Gross (1863–1947), Hungarian-American entrepreneur
- Boglárka Kapás (born 1993), Swimmer, 2019 World Champion - 200 m butterfly, 2016 Olympic bronze Medalist - 800 m freestyle
- István Kardos (1891-1975), conductor and composer
- George Karpati (1934–2009), physician, neurologist, surgeon, teacher, author
- Rivka Keren (born 1946), Israeli writer
- Vivien Keszthelyi (born 2000), racing driver
- Miklós Kocsár (1933-2019), composer
- Imre Lakatos (1922–1974), philosopher of mathematics and of science
- Paul László (1900–1993), architect
- Gábor Máthé (born 1985), tennis Deaflympics champion
- Mihály Nagy (born 1937) high school teacher; research teacher; university doctor; mineralogist; meteorite researcher
- Judah Samet (1938-2022), Hungarian-American businessman, speaker, and Holocaust survivor
- Magda Szabó (1917–2007), writer
- Borbala Biro (born 1957), biologist and agricultural scientist
- József Váradi (born 1965), CEO of Wizz Air
- Chaim Michael Dov Weissmandl (1903–1957), rabbi at the Slovak Nitra yeshiva and post-WWII rebuilt the yeshiva in Mount Kisco NY, discovered the Torah Codes - coded messages in the Torah, during the Holocaust established one of the most import rescue groups: the Bratislava Working Group together with Gisi Fleischmann, initiated high-level negotiations with the Nazis to save the Jews of Slovakia and later much of Europe by the Europa Plan
Lived in Debrecen
- Zvi Miklos Adler, well known artist in Debrecen and Israel. May have been born in Debrecen
- Endre Ady (1877–1919), poet
- Julia Bathory (1901–2000), glass artist
- Rudolf Charousek (1873–1812? 1873 until grade 4), World Champion chess master
- Géza Hofi (1936–2002), stand-up comedian
- Albert Kardos (1861-1945), literary scholar, linguist, pedagogue and publicist
- Andrew Karpati Kennedy, author and literary critic
- Sándor Petőfi (1823–1849), poet
- Alfréd Rényi (1921–1970), mathematician
- Éva Risztov (born 1985), Olympic champion swimmer
- Moshe Stern (1914–1997), Rabbi and authority on Jewish law
- Sándor Szalay (physicist) (1909–1987), physicist, founder of ATOMKI
- Árpád Tóth (1886–1928), poet
Died in Debrecen
- Pierre-Octave Ferroud (1900-1936), French composer
Twin towns – sister cities
thumbnail|A signpost with distances to Debrecen's twin towns|right|200px
Debrecen is twinned with:
- Košice, Slovak Republic
- Brno, Czech Republic
- Cattolica, Italy
- Jyväskylä, Finland
- Klaipėda, Lithuania
- Limerick County, Ireland
- Lublin, Poland
- New Brunswick, United States
- Oradea, Romania
- Paderborn, Germany
- Patras, Greece
- Rishon LeZion, Israel
- Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Setúbal, Portugal
- Shumen, Bulgaria
- Syktyvkar, Russia
- Taitung City, Taiwan
- Toluca, Mexico
- Tongliao, China
See also
Debrecen cuisine
- Debrecener – a pork sausage
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links
- in Hungarian and English
- for expats in English
- Debrecen Travel Guide
- Debrecen at funiq.hu
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