Outside the Reformed Great Church of Debrecen

RELIGIOUS VALUES

GREAT CHURCH

The classicist-style church is the symbol of the city and the Hungarian Reformed Church – that’s why Debrecen is called the Calvinist Rome. Built between 1805 and 1824, the 1,500-square-meter sanctuary was a witness to great times: the government of the Hungarian War of Independence of 1848-49, fleeing to Debrecen, announced the dethronement of the House of Habsburg on April 14, 1849, and proclaimed the Declaration of Independence.

CSONKA CHURCH

The small Reformed church in Debrecen stands at the intersection of Piac and Széchenyi streets, on Révész tér. The church, originally built in Baroque style, was remodeled in 1876 in Neo-Romanesque style. Its tower was originally covered by an onion-like helmet, but it was damaged by a storm in 1907, and although it was repaired, it was soon completely destroyed by the lowland winds.

RED CHURCH

The construction of the neo-Gothic church of the Debrecen Kossuth Street Reformed Parish began in 1886 with the donation of the former chief judge, István Szombathy and his wife, from unplastered red clinker bricks – hence its common name. Its special value is the interior decorated with secco, which is unusual for Reformed churches.

SAINT ANNA CATHEDRAL

The cathedral church of the diocese of Debrecen-Nyíregyházi. The church, completed in the Baroque style in 1746, was destroyed by a terrible fire in 1811 – it was rebuilt in the braid style in 1834. It was elevated to the rank of a cathedral by Pope János Pál the 2nd in 1993.

PÁSTI STREET SYNAGOGUE

The history of Debrecen’s Jews goes back more than 100 years. The first Jewish merchants arrived in the city in the 1780s. The Pásti Street synagogue, which is open to everyone, was inaugurated in 1902. A Holocaust memorial was created in its yard to commemorate the victims of Debrecen.