Attractions and Places To See in Hajdú-Bihar - Top 20

In 1861, it was commissioned by the Debrecen Memorial Garden Society, which was formed by local merchants, soldiers, actors, and teachers and led by József Csanak, a well-to-do merchant with a literary education. In the space between the Great Church and the Reformed College, they wanted to create a statue-pantheon commemorating the famous natives of Debrecen - the first being Mihály Vitéz Csokonai. Although the Csokonai statue erected in 1871 was completed by Miklós Izsó, the realized monument differs somewhat from the terracotta model. According to the customers, Csokonai's figure seemed too cute (in reality it was so), so they 'thickened' the figure when enlarging. This 'thickening' was carried out at the Royal Bronze Foundry in Munich. The work was ceremonially inaugurated on October 11, 1871.

The 1670s were years of testing in the life of the Protestant churches. During the Counter-Reformation in Hungary, on March 5, 1674, more than seven hundred Protestant pastors and teachers were summoned before the special court set up in Bratislava, during which about three hundred appeared at the trial. The court accused them of treason, treason and insulting the Catholic Church. At the same time, those cited before the court were demanded to confess their "sins" and to convert to the Catholic faith. The most steadfast of the summoned preachers, who were not ready to compromise in any way, were thrown into castle prisons in small groups, and then more than forty priests were dragged to Naples, but only thirty-two of them survived , who were sold as galley prisoners. Their fate caused a great echo in the Protestant countries of Europe. A collection was started in order to free them, which after several attempts was finally succeeded by the Dutch admiral Michiel de Ruyter on February 11, 1676. In 1895, the first public monument was erected in memory of the galley prisoners. Donated by Mrs. Mihályn. The four and a half meter high memorial column of the galleys was created by the sculptor Béla Gerenday. The obelisk-shaped monument is given dignity by a low cast iron railing. The inauguration of the memorial column was held on September 21, 1895.

They tried to place the objects of the city history learning trail in such a way as to be as close as possible to the building that once stood, to which the description is attached. The former Neolog synagogue, built in 1897, was also close to this place. Moreover, a huge, seven-story house now stands on the former site of the synagogue, meaning that a place had to be found in the square for the memorial. A passing walkway starts from next to the Petőfi statue to the corner of Iparkamara Street, and information was installed next to it. It shows the synagogue in two states, in its heyday, with the huge dome on top, and the state after 1948, when there is no longer a dome over the building. The placed texts: "At 8 Deák Ferenc Street, the Moorish-style synagogue of Debrecen Jews was completed in 1897. Although it was slightly damaged during the bombings of 1944, its 44 m high central dome was destroyed by fire in 1948." It is also known that this fire started during the renovation and was caused by human error. It is interesting that the board does not inform about this... On the other side: "At the time of the unveiling of the Petőfi statue on August 29, 1948, in the empty place of the destroyed houses, an imposing synagogue and a beautiful wrought iron fence were the background of the work, even without its central dome. The church was demolished in 1962." The educational trail consists of 6 stations.

The tender was put out for it in 1993, and it was moved to Petőfi Square the following year.

The renovated Petőfi Square was handed over on November 17, 2022. The development of the 1.7-hectare area was not only focused on the park, as its surroundings were also put in order. The pedestrian traffic zones on both sides of the park - on the street side of the tram track and Iparkamara street - were renovated, the Piac utca-Holló János utca junction was renovated, and the parking lots on the inner side were also tidied up. In addition to making the park irrigable, a small lake of 400 m² was created, on the shore of which there is a wooden terrace. A very nice element of the development is that we also commemorate the old Debrecen, which suffered significant damage at the end of the Second World War, during the bombings of June and September 1944. At several points on the city history trail, you can see the silhouettes of those buildings milled into corten steel along with a small text presentation showing what this square looked like 70, 80 or 100 years ago.

During the reform era, the bold idea of establishing a railway between Pest and Debrecen came, and Ferenc Deák doubted its realization even in 1839, he said: "I think that looking at the line between Debrecen and Pest, there is hardly anyone among the ranks, who, along with me, would not consider it a dream to ever exist here." Although even then a Viennese banker held the right to build the railway line between Pest and Vác. The first Hungarian train traveled 36 kilometers in 1846. However, the next, i.e. the second, railway venture already led in the direction of Debrecen, because in 1847 railway traffic started between Pest and Szolnok. This line has a historically significant past, which can be linked to January 1849, when the government had to flee from Pest and could only go east. They made their way to Debrecen, but they could travel on this railway line as far as Szolnok. By 1857, the Debrecen railway line and the "indóház" were built. In 1858, the section connecting Debrecen and Nyíregyháza became operational, and a year later, the line between Debrecen and Miskolc. Debrecen developed into a railway junction at the turn of the century. The mobile home was demolished and in 1900 a showy large building was erected in its place. The II. The carpet bombing of World War II rendered this building almost completely unusable. In 1961, the building of the new Grand Station, which was built based on the plans of László Kelemen, was handed over. This station building does not resemble its predecessor in the slightest, it completely reflects the modern architectural style of the 60s and a touch of social creation brought over from the 50s. Two walls of the building's central waiting hall are decorated with large-scale frescoes by painter Endre Domanovszky. The murals immortalized everyday life in Debrecen, such as the Debrecen fair and the Lovasjelene, the Debrecen quintet.

One of the top sights in the Puszta

Kossuth tér is the central square in Debrecen, around which numerous historical buildings are gathered. The Great Reformed Church in the background gives the square a very monumental appearance; it owes its actual name to the Kossuth monument in front of the church. The Debrecen city coat of arms, which is carved into the ground as a mosaic, and the fountain with the statue of a phoenix bird are further attractions of one of the most beautiful places in Hungary. (Source: https://www.budapest.com/ungarn/debrecen/sehenswurdheiten/kossuth_platz.de.html)