Debrecen History Facts and Timeline

(Debrecen, Hajdu-Bihar, Hungary)

Hungary's number two city in terms of overall size, after the considerably larger capital of Budapest, Debrecen has been around since the very first organised towns began emerging in central Europe. It enjoyed its most prosperous period centuries ago as an important centre for agriculture, livestock and regional trade under the Magyars and then the Turks.

In modern times, the history of Debrecen has been comparatively flat following its near destruction in WWII. Today, the city enjoys particular merits, but inevitably loses visitors to more enchanting Hungarian destinations such as Budapest and Gyor.

From Magyars to the Middle Ages

The founders of modern day Hungary, the Magyars, first arrived in Debrecen towards the end of the 9th century AD. A village of Slovaks had already established itself in the area due to the incredibly fertile soil in the valley. By the middle of the 1200s, the smattering of villages that lived in the immediate area merged together to become the town of Debrecen, and its history really took off after that.


The Hungarian king named Louis I gave Debrecen and its citizens the rare right to elect their own town council and magistrate at the beginning of the 1360s. This progressive form of self-governance allowed the city to develop freely and by the 16th century, this was one of the region's most successful and affluent market towns.

Diplomacy at Work

Debrecen's wealth was based mainly around a brisk trade in salt and fur, as well as the rearing of cattle. Even when the Ottoman Empire took control of Hungary, Debrecen continued to thrive by paying taxes to all the major players of the period - Ottoman sultans, Habsburg kings and Transylvanian princes. This delicate dance of diplomacy kept it safe and sound throughout that turbulent era, as it had no castle of other defences to protect itself.

Calvinist Rome

The generally open-minded perspective of local citizens led them to be early supporters of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. By the middle of that century, nearly everyone in Debrecen had converted to Protestantism and the city began a church-building frenzy that earned it the affectionate title of 'Calvinist Rome'. Some of these magnificent churches still stand today, such as the Great Church and St. Anna Church.

Hungarian Capital

During the Hungarian War of Independence (1848 to 1849), Debrecen made history by playing a major role in this event. When the revolutionary government had to flee its base in Budapest in 1849, it took up residence here for a short while. The final battle in the independence struggle was fought just outside of the city, and in the spring of 1849, the freedom fighter Lajos Kossuth declared Hungary free from the Habsburgs in the Great Church.

A City on the Rails

Following its independence, the railroad had a huge impact on the history of Debrecen. In the late 1850s, the city was connected to Budapest and was soon transformed into a key railway hub. A boom in city infrastructure and industry quickly followed, and by the mid-1880s, this was the first city in the whole of Hungary to have steam-powered trams.

This wave of prosperity, expansion and building continued right up to WWII. The city enjoyed a popular reputation among European holiday makers thanks to the recreation possibilities provided by its Big Forest central park, which housed the nation's earliest stadium and a sizeable indoor pool. Unfortunately, that all came crashing down in WWII, when the Battle of Debrecen levelled roughly half of all the city's buildings and damaged many more towards the end of 1944. Yet out of this carnage, the city was able to successfully carve itself into a modern cultural centre, with a particular focus on music.

The city is home to Rocksuli, a rock school offering young musicians an opportunity to study and train. Each year, Debrecen hosts the Bela Bartok International Choir Competition and is a member of the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing.