debrecen 2008 eng

7/30/2019 Debrecen 2008 Eng

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Debrecen obtained a leading role

among the ormer villages on its

current territory in the 13th century.

Due to its religious, political and

economic strength, the settlement,

which unctioned over the centuries

almost like a city-state, served as the

capital o Hungary twice in its history.

Today, Debrecen is the dynamically

developing centre o the North Great

Plain Region.

What does it take or someone to eel

comortable in a European city? Apart

rom the sights, exciting cultural and

sporting events, naturally, it also takes

great entertainment opportunities,

something that Debrecen abounds in.

Many cas in the mood o the n-de-

sicle, intimate tea-houses, alternative

hangouts and music clubs have

prolierated in recent years. Bubbling

ountains, picturesque parks and

countless terraces in the main square

pedestrian area await those in search

o relaxation rom early spring until

late autumn. Tenacious patrons may

even sit out in wintertime to admire

the dance o the snowakes or the

evening lights o the city. The tower o

the Protestant Great Church proudly

standing on the main square o

Debrecen ofers a breathtaking view

o the city.


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Debrecen has been one o the

cultural centres o Hungary or

ve centuries. Many outstanding

gures o Hungarian culture

studied at the Calvinist College,

ounded in 1538. The museum and

the library o the College house

valuable collections, including nearly

17 thousand arteacts, as well as many

rare or even unique manuscripts and

printed books. The museum also has

a collection o applied arts, eaturing

superb examples o Hungarian

goldsmiths crat and embroidery. In

literature, the culture o Debrecen,

deeply rooted in Protestantism, is best

refected in the works o Magda Szab,

a writer o very close ties to the city,

who passed away in 2007 and is buried

in her native Debrecen. Her memory is

preserved, among other things, by the

bookshop named ater her and the

reading corner

in the university library

where her statue stands.

In Klcsey Convention Centre, the

largest such venue o the country

outside o Budapest, many Hungarian

and international stars have

perormed since its opening in 2006.

The exhibition hall and oyer o the

building are requently used or large-

scale art events. Dri Museum,

located in the heart o the city, is

another outstanding storehouse

o the cultural and intellectual

assets o Debrecen. Foremost

among the attractions

o the museum are the

monumental paintings o

the Christ-trilogy by the 19th-century

Hungarian artist, Mihly Munkcsy.

The collection o the museum also

includes Egyptian mummies, East-

Asian arteacts, Oriental weapons,

as well as many other interesting

curiosities. Modem, the new, three-

storey art gallery o the city, was the

venue (ater Florence and Tokyo) o

the exhibition The Real da Vinci,

which attracted more than 160

thousand visitors.

In addition, Debrecen also has

museums o literature and sculpture, a

philatelic exhibition eaturingstamps rom around the

world, as well as numerous

art galleries.


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Debrecen was once amous or its

cratsmen and merchants, who lived

and worked in separate streets, each

according to their trade.

Their memory is preserved today by

names like Tmr (Tanner) and Varga

(Cobbler) Street, while their modern-

day successors still carry on some o

the centuries-old traditions.

The row o workshops in the Tanners

House ofers a glimpse into the

secrets o cloak appliqu trimming,

embroidery, bead-threading, bone-

lace making, pottery, blue-dyeing,

and other crats, where visitors

can even try their hands at

some o the tricks o these

trades.

This provides, in addition to

some insight into the lives o local

cratsmen o a bygone era, also a

taste o the joy o creative, manual

work.


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into a week-long estival, and the

events, ocusing on music, dance and

fowers, will commence on 15 August

this year. Debrecen is also part o the

larger spring and autumn estivals

held across Hungary. Each year, an

international jazz estival is staged,

and the city is also internationally

amous or its biannual Bla Bartk

Choir Competition and the

Military Band

Festival.

Few people realise that the largest

and longest-standing estival o the

city, the Flower Carnival o Debrecen,

looks back on a history o over one

hundred years, as the annals o the city

mention a fower promenade held

as early as 1905. Over the years, some

100 million fowers have been used

to decorate 600 or so foats, which

were seen, along with the tens o

thousands o Hungarian and oreign

perorming participants, by millions o

visitors who spent the 20th o August

national holiday in Debrecen. The

Flower Carnival has recently grown


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Medicinal water is one o the most

important treasures in natures

pharmacy. Hungary is a country with

countless baths, as well as one o

the largest reserves o thermal and

medicinal water in the world. Bath

culture in Debrecen looks back to a

history o 180 years. The medicinal

bath, which played an important role

in the history o the city, was built in

the Great Forest, the countrys rst

nature conservation area. The thermal

bath, which is part o the Aquaticum

Medicinal and Bathing Centre, has

63 C thermal water and ofers 40

diferent treatments, supported

by the proessional background

provided by the nearby medical

school. The medicinal water o the

bath is excellent or the treatment

o rheumatic, dermatological and

gynaecological problems.

More and more people worldwide

recognise the importance o a healthy

liestyle in the prevention o illnesses

and ensuring long-term well-being.

The wellness island o Debrecen

ofers some 60 diferent traditional

and special services, ranging rom

slimming and detoxiying algal

treatment to tropical medicinal baths

and oriental-style pampering.


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Where should I go? What should I do?

Debrecen is not a place where one can

easily get bored! Pick rom a concert in

Fnix Arena, clubs or dance-lovers, or

solid live music in a pleasant restaurant.

To the north rom the downtown area,

the 50-year-old Debrecen Zoo is a un

place or all members o the amily:

spreading over an area o 17 hectares,

it showcases 1500 animals belonging to

165 species o ve continents. Among

the special assets o the zoo, Linda and

Siegried, the hippo couple should be

mentioned: their daughter grew up to

be the leading emale at Disneyland in

San Diego, USA. Summer camps have a

long tradition at the zoo, which also has

a petting zoo section. Those in search o

even more excitement can set out on athrilling night-time walk around the rst

zoo o the countryside eaturing exotic

animals.

Debrecen in the evening and at night

always has something liberating and ull

o promise in the air, no doubt related

to the act that the number o good

hangouts is constantly increasing.

Young people fock rom one new placeto the next. This is especially true rom

spring until autumn, the period when

the outdoor scene gets into ull swing.


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Rain or

s h i n e ,

indoors or out,

Debrecen ofers many opportunities

to kids ready or some un. A pleasant

amily programme is a visit to the

Mediterranean Pleasure Baths,

complete with tropical vegetation,

which is open all year round. A sur

pool, twelve diferent water slides,

childrens and baby pools, a climbing

wall, cavern baths, water choppers

or kids and much more provide

unorgettable entertainment.

The nearby amusement park eatures

a un house, a Ferris-wheel, bumper

cars, childrens

railway, carousels

and other rides. Another

un programme with children is to

catch a show at the Vojtina Puppet

Theatre, located in the downtown

area. The botanical garden, located on

the area behind the main building o

the University o Debrecen, is amous

or its cactus collection, eaturing

2500 o the worlds 3000 species. In

addition to

the hothouse rarities o the tropical

collection, this wonderul garden also

eatures beautiul orchids, banana

trees and vanilla plants.


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Debrecen has played an important

role in Hungarian sport lie or over 100

years. DVSC, the most popular ootball

club o the city, was established in 1902

and came to the top in recent years,

fnishing as the national champion in

2005, 2006 and 2007. The womens

handball team won the Hungarian

championship in 1987, and also

gained the Hungarian Cup on several

occasions. Debrecen, which has an

athletic stadium certifed as an elite

training centre by the International

Association o Athletics Federations

(IAAF), a modern ice hall, a brand

new swimming pool complex and

a sports arena, is frmly established

on the sports map o the world. The

city hosted numerous international

competitions in recent years, including

the World Youth Championship in

Athletics in 2001, world and European

gymnastics championships, ice-hockey

world championship, and many more.

Lovers o an active liestyle will fnd

many opportunities in and around the

city, such as bowling alleys, tennis and

squash courts, paintball felds, well-

equipped ftness and weight rooms,

quad tracks.


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Stued cabbage Debrecen style,

spare-rib soup, meat-lled pancakes,

bee specialties made rom amous

Hungarian longhorn cattle, shsoup rom the organic sh armed

at Hortobgy, lngos bread, meals

cooked or baked in an oven In the

ambient restaurants o Debrecen, one

can choose rom an oering not to be

ound anywhere else. In the summer,

the Debrecen Turkey Days, a estival o

gastronomy, is awaiting lovers o great

ood. In the pastry shops o the city,the traditional Dobos cake, the Rkczi

cheesecake, as well as the sugar-ree

pastries and the scones made rom

spelt

l o u r

are denitely

worth tasting. In

addition to the many

local and Hungarian specialities, ocourse, the gastronomic oering

o a city cannot dispense with the

favours o international cuisines,

and Debrecen, with its Greek,

Kurdish, Chinese, Mexican and Italian

restaurants is no exception.


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The university o the city opened in

October 1914, with the aculties o

theology, arts and law taken over rom

the Calvinist College. The impressive

main building was inaugurated in

1932. In the period between 1949 and

1952, the previously unied institution

was dismembered, only to be

reunited in 2000, when the University

o Debrecen was re-ormed with a

total o 15 aculties, including arts

and humanities, sciences, medicine,

agriculture, economics, law, music

and pedagogy. Today, the university

has nearly 30 thousand students. The

Medical and Health Sciences Centre

has an English-language programme

o international reputation, attracting

students rom around the world.

The Summer School o the University

o Debrecen is characterised by time-

honoured traditions, high-quality

language teaching, an intimate and

amiliar atmosphere, combined with

a estive mood. The institution, which

celebrated its 80th anniversary in

2007, became the oremost centre

o teaching Hungarian as a oreign

language in 1961, and it has since

concentrated on oreign students

wishing to get acquainted with the

Hungarian language and culture.

More than 600 students coming rom

dozens o countries are taught each

year by nearly 50 teachers. In addition

to language classes, it also ofers a

rich cultural programme, including

excursions in the Eastern part o

Hungary.


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Debrecen has a river, whose name is

Hortobgy this is how an old olk

song goes. This was literally true, as

the whole Hortobgy, including its

river, belonged to the town once.

The amous puszta, the Hungarian

steppe, now constitutes part o

the Hortobgy National Park, and is a

World Heritage Site. The presentation

o its natural assets is acilitated by

the visitor centre, which serves as the

starting point or explorations by those

avouring eco-tourism. Horse shows

and exciting pleasure rides on horse-

drawn wagons are popular with kids

and adults alike. The M3 Archeopark is

located on the edge o the Hortobgy,

at the Polgr intersection o motorway

M3. Visitors can get acquainted with

the North Plains region with the help o

the archaeological and local historical

exhibition. Debrecen is bordered on

the north by the gentle slopes o

the Nyrsg, and on the east by the

Erdspuszta, an extensive orestland

eaturing lakes (such as Vekeri Lake,

best known or its

summer estivals

o pop

music), as

well as the arboretum

o Bnk. This region can

be explored by way o the

small-gauge Zsuzsi train,

but also lends itsel to bicycle

or on oot. Lovers o horseback

riding can experience, or

example, the reedom o Western

riding in a wonderul rural

setting. The 82 settlements

o Hajd-Bihar County ofer

many unique and valuable

sights to visit, including more

than 200 nationally protected

monuments, such as the

Bocskai Castle in Nagykereki,

the Calvinist Church o Nyracsd,

originally built at the turn o the

13th and 14th century, or the Nine-

Holed Bridge and the Shepherds

Museum in Hortobgy.


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Imprint:

Published by: Municipality o Debrecen,

Mayors Ofce, H-Debrecen, Piac utca 20.

Publisher in charge: Lajos Ksa, mayor

Phone/ax: +36 (52) 511-590, +36 (52) 511-467

Web: www.debrecen.hu

E-mail: [email protected]

Graphic design, layout: Kamleon Dizjn Kt.

Further inormation:

Tourinorm Ofce:

H-4024 Debrecen, Piac utca 20.

Tel: +36 (52) 412-250

E-mail: [email protected]

www.debrecen.hu

www.gotodebrecen.hu


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debrecen 2008 eng

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