Debrecen: Hungary's second city

Historic centre of Calvinist Protestantism in Hungary, Debrecen was twice a temporary capital of the country during revolutions and occupations.

The centre, Hungary's second city of importance, is easily explored on foot around the great Calvinist church.

The Great Reformed Church, the largest Protestant church in Hungary, was the site in 1849 of Hungary's declaration of independence from the Habsburg Empire.

A short walk away, the Reformed College, founded in the sixteenth century, remains one of the oldest and most important Protestant educational centers in Central Europe, with a very rich historical library.

Continuing, you walk along Piac utca, the city's main pedestrian street, surrounded by Art Nouveau buildings and historic shops.

Toward evening, the Great Forest, an urban park with thermal baths and a small zoo, offers a green respite just steps from the city center, frequented year-round by residents.

Debrecen was proclaimed the provisional capital of Hungary twice in its history, first during the 1848-49 revolution and then in 1944 during the Nazi occupation of Budapest.

Debrecen's Calvinist tradition earned it the nickname 'Calvinist Rome,' a playful contrast with the Catholic majority of the rest of Hungary.