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Debrecen - History 

The history of Debrecen reaches back to the Stone, Bronze and Copper Ages when Hungarians moved into the Great Plain from the East sometime around the end of the ninth century. Debrecen and its inhabitants survived multiple invasions by Mongolians and Tatars and lay under the hegemony of the Turkish and Hapsburg rulers. By 1400, Debrecen enjoyed the ranking of "civitas" The first church in Debrecen was St. Andrews built during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The years of the Reformation brought Calvin Protestantism to Debrecen and during the Thirty Year's War (1618-48), Debrecen proved a fortress of Protestantism and has since been referred to as the "Hungarian Geneva" and the "Calvinist Rome. "

Calvinism proved instrumental to the cultural life of Debrecen. The establishment of a printing house in 1561 to publish humanistic works was important to buttressing Reformation theology. In 1538 the Protestants founded the College of Debrecen. The students of the college often continued their studies in Basle, Wittenberg and in other Protestant cities thus both avoiding the Catholic influence of the Hapsburgs and bringing back to Hungary progressive ideas of the Western Europe. By the sixteenth century Debrecen was the literary center of the country.

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Debrecen suffered decline. The monopolizing of the trade in Central Europe by Austrians was a serious loss to Debrecen merchants and hindered the town's development. The years 1848-49, however, brought a renewed importance to Debrecen. During these years when much of Europe seethed with democratic revolutions, the Hungarian government in its opposition to the Hapsburgs fled Budapest for Debrecen and the city became the temporary capital. Here the Parliament declared independence and proclaimed the Republic of Hungary. With the suppression of the independence movement, the government moved back to Budapest and Debrecen returned to its role as economic center for eastern Hungary.

This town had been the heart of the historical Hungary; it had been and is called "Calvin ist Rome" and was the capital of the country two times - in critical times when Hungary could be safely governed only from here.

Famous Debreceners set an example to the whole nation, its schools and scientific life were of European renown two hundred years ago, it was called the city of endurance a hundred years later; those who had left her always longed to be back, those who stayed felt the calling of far-away cultures.

The walls and people of the town are filled with immobility of the east and the restless spirit of the west; as Pál Gulyás, one of the poets born here wrote : "Debrecen, old harbour, welding lands together!"

The area had been inhabited long before the appearance of the Hungarians. The oldest traces lead back to the Neolithic age. The age of migrations about four thousand years ago - the early Bronze Age - stays out of our range of knowledge but we have quite ample archaeological material from the late Bronze Age.

From the 6th century the region was probably the borderland of the Black-Sea Scythian cultural area till the Scythian population was assimilated into the Celtic community spreading east.

Remainders of the Celtic culture extending from the British aisles to Asia Minor - urns, brazen bracelets and iron appliances - were found in the cemeteries of the Tócó-vale. The Iranian origin Sarmatians succeeded to the weakening Celts, the Yazig tribe, which had settled here, separated from the Roxolans and turned to agriculture.

Various Germanic tribes occupied the territory in the 3rd-4th centuries - Gepids, Vandals, Western Goths. At the end of the 4th century the dreaded warriors of the East - the Huns - appeared and the area was located near the centre of the expanding empire. The Gepids survived the Hun rule; after the fall of the empire in 453 they established a kingdom in Transylvania. By that time the Avars were approaching - the nomadic equestrian people that had put an end to the rule of the Germanic tribes in the Carpathian Basin by 567 and created political unity in the Danube - Tisza region; thus one of the most important conditions of the formation of an integral European state is given. This state could not be born at that time. The Carpathian Basin disintegrated again and the Debrecen region fell under Bulgarian-Turkish administration. Turkish and Slavic people inhabit the abandoned areas.

The village that the conqueror Hungarians found here was possibly inhabited by a population modest in quantity and ethnically mingled. In the 10th century settlements are founded one by one in the country of the Hungarians; Debrecen was a small, insignificant point of this newly established network of settlements. The memory of an unknown conquering nation before the Hungarians is preserved in place names like Ondód and Apafa . The Hungarians could have invaded the region quite early as the oldest place names (like the Gúti forest) indicate it or the first charter of incorporation in which only Hungarian names are mentioned.

Without written records we can only assume the former location of the village called Debrecen. Most likely the village lay in the place of the Big Church and the once Paptava (the present Déri square). This village had vanished nearly entirely. In 1913, at the foundations of Hotel Aranybika seventy-six coins were found; the latest ones are from the age of Stephen V (1270 - 1272 ). Traces of the village did not remain because the centre of the town was gradually filling up which process lasted for centuries. The lake had disappeared and the remains sank into the depth.

According to other opinions the old village was located in the vicinity of Domb Street. Probably a loose set of villages was formed; it is certain that a village called Szentlászlófalva was situated in the district east of Péterfia street and in the neighbourhood of the railway station another village - Boldogasszonyfalva or Torna - was built. The most precious relics of this era as well were brought to the surface from cemeteries: probably there were graveyards in the vicinity of the Big Church, in Diószegi street and on the banks of the Tócó-stream.

The name of Debrecen ( as Debrezun ) first appeared in a collection of sentences known as the "Regestrum of Várad" in 1235. The Slavic derivation of the name "Debrecen" is a false idea; more likely, the word is of Turkish (or Avar - Turkish) origin and bears the memory of its first owner; it means "live, move" and it had a protective function. An Episcopal tithe-roll from 1295 reveals that the village at that time is the property of three noblemen of the same family - Rophoin, Péter and Dósa.

The town had two supporting pillars in those chaotic times. One is the strong and independent local government; the town judge had control over life and death but his decisions were always in accordance with the interests of the town. The other factor of stability was that the landlords - Bálint Török and his descendants - did not interfere with town affairs from 1536 for more than eight decades. Thus the town struck by fires and epidemics could keep its fragile stability between the three powers.

The Sultan of Turkey also wanted to annex the territory. In 1555 the town submitted to the Sultan and paid a stiff tax to him. Naturally the next landlord - John Sigismund, *087 the Prince of Transylvania - imposed taxes on the town, as well.

Villages and towns fell prey to the marauding Turkish and Austrian troops, one after the other. People fled into the town that offered security. The population of the town reaches 7-8000 and fires ravage the hurriedly built streets. Epidemics break out and in 1594 a huge swarm of locusts overran the territory; they tried to exterminate the insects with cannons.

Yet the outlook of the town is not that of a terror stricken community struggling for life. The industrious Debreceners did not let the opportunity of economic rise slip. The markets attract merchants from more and more distant places.

We can see stallholders selling products of craftsmen from Miskolc, Eperjes, and Kézsmárk, even German cattle-dealers. The merchants of Debrecen sell renowned goods of local craftsmen from honey-cake to harnesses; they had been to places all over the world, they set up shops in western cities and in Istanbul, sold thousands of horses in the east, their stocks were selling well from Belgium to Russia.

Owing to the wartime cattle-drivers turned into armed escorts. Not even religion could remain untouched in those turbulent times. Bálint Török - a Protestant himself - moved a minister called Bálint into the town and thence Reformation comes into force here as well. Márton Kálmáncsehi Sánta, a prominent representative of the Helvetian creed who had arrived into Debrecen in 1551 furthered the spreading of the movement. Next year Catholic churches were taken over by the Reformed Church, the rule of the Roman Catholic Church came to an end. The town became "Calvin ist Rome" under the administration of bishop Péter Méliusz Juhász, the most famous reformer of the town; the Debrecen synod of 1567 issued the "Profession of Christian Creed" that became the charter for the whole reformed Hungary. A close co-operation took shape between the town and the new Church; the citizens supported the Church and the schools run by it with remarkable amounts.

In the last few years of the century Zsigmond Bthori, the Prince of Transylvania ceded the supremacy over Transylvania to the Habsburg ruler. The commanders of Rudolf I ravagingly turned on Debrecen extorting money from the burgesses. The subject of the Vienna war council in 1602 was the settling of German people into Debrecen and its vicinity. Help was to come from Transylvania. Istvn Bocskai the wealthiest landlord of Bihar County organized an army in order to curb the marauding Austrian troops. The Hajduks played an important role in the success of the swoop. Bocskai signed a secret agreement with the leaders of the Hajduks serving the imperial forces according to which the Hajduks side with him in a battle. On 15th October 1604 Bocskai and his Hajduks defeated the enemy in a battle near Álmosd and marched into Debrecen. In return Bocskai raised the Hajduks to noble rank and settled them in the area (in Dorog, Nánás, Hadház, Szoboszló, Polgár, Vámospércs and later Böszörmény ). From 1619 the landlord of the town is the Prince himself. Gbor Bethlen confirmed the former privileges; gives relief from taxation and owing to his support St. Andrew's church could be rebuilt. The town slowly emerged to national importance: the Prince issued his leaflet of great renown, the Complaint of Hungary, here and from 1624 delegates of the town attend the parliaments of Gyulafehérvár. György Rákóczi I also supported the town. His son,Gyrgy Rkczi II is not able to maintain the delicate balance of the country and came up against the Porte; he cannot gain the goodwill of Leopold I either. The Turks set out against Transylvania; in the spring of 1660 pasha Szejdi Ahmed - after burning the Hajduk-towns - arrived in Debrecen.

The dreaded pasha demanded 300.000 gold coins from the town; the burgesses were forced to borrow money.

With the failure of Várad the situation of Debrecen became critical since imperial forces marched into the town. The Turks were punishing Debrecen for feeding the Germans, the Germans for submitting to the Turks.

The soldiers of Leopold I grew bold by the weakening power of the Turkish Empire. In the year of the liberation of Buda general Caraffa had a million forints tribute collected from the citizens of Debrecen - the yearly payment of the wealthiest burgess was 450 forints at that time - and in return set the town on fire.

This is the time when the 1693 charter of Leopold I is issued. It is an acknowledgement of the contribution of Debrecen to war costs and raises the town to the status of a Free Royal City.

The old glory of Debrecen is lost; the number of inhabitants around the turn of the century is about twenty thousand but the recovery of the economy began - they first grow corn on the estate at that time. Yet its present commercial status falls far behind the former one. Leopold I forbade the practice of Protestant creeds on the reconquered territories. This not only meant the pursuing of the "Hungarian religion" but the restriction of municipal autonomy, independent commerce and trade, as well.

The self-protective behaviour and reservedness of the leaders and citizens of the town originated from this. This is the time when to the name "cívis " a pejorative aspect is attached; although the word simply means townsman, citizen. It is true that the cívis have been a peculiar type of people from the beginning: product of the strange, Hungarian way of urbanization and emburgeoisement. A privileged social class that as opposed to noble estates played a leading role in the social-economic life of the town. Owing to its homogeneous economic system, language, culture and religion it was formed into a strong, loyal community. This loyalty had turned into reservedness under external influence. No wonder if the cívis went on the defensive, refusing outer - mainly German and Austrian - influence. Since there was no hope for renewal according to their own taste they set themselves to preserving the old and refused everything that was new - even if beneficial for the community. This backwardness sealed the doom of the cívis society; in the second half of the 19th century the leading branches of economy were taken over by the new-type capitalist bourgeoisie.

During the Rákóczi rebellion the inhabitants of Debrecen were forced to leave their town five times because of fights and raids of marauders. In 1703 town judge István Dobozi swore an oath of loyalty to the prince; although by way of precaution he did not send soldiers to him officially, he supported Rkczi by means of money, ammunition and advice as long as he could. A group of irregulars recruited from the poorest citizens of Debrecen joined the forces of the prince voluntarily. The successor of Dobozi, György Komáromi Csipkés began negotiations with the commander-in-chief of the imperial forces on Rákóczi's authority; the Treaty of Szatmár closing the rebellion was worded in the residence of the judge.

Debrecen swore an oath of allegiance to Joseph I owing to this the parliament of 1715 confirmed the city's royal status.

In the town where a Roman Catholic had not even been allowed to settle since 1552 a site had to be assigned for a Catholic church. The church had been completed by 1745 though the Catholic community ran only to one and a half - two per cent of the population. Catholic and Reformed town judges had to be elected alternately and records were kept in German. Joseph simply relieved judge Lajos Domokos who resisted his efforts at Germanization. Publications of the renowned printing house were censored. The autonomy of the College is limited; students can visit only universities in Germany - Halle, Göttingen, Berlin. The autonomy of the town practically perishes by the end of the century; it is annexed to Várad, the Catholic cathedral town.

The flourishing trade is arrested by history by now; only four markets are kept a year instead of the former eight.

Merchants and craftsmen cannot make their living; they have to purchase or rent land. The customs order of Maria Theresa cut off traditional trade routes towards the Baltic States, Moldavia, Augsburg and Turkey.

Back in 1715 still every other person lives on some trade and every fifth was a merchant and only one third of the population is engaged in economy. Sixty years later a half of the population earn their meager living by agriculture. The foundation of saltpeter Shareholding Company by Miklós Vay in 1799 marks the beginning of a new era in Debrecen.

The " biggest village in Europe ", as the town was still described by an English traveller at the end of the 18th century, starts to assume a more urban appearance in her outlook, too. After the largest fire of her history in 1802 Debrecen rises again from her ashes with the vitality of the phoenix, the symbol bird of the town.

Several decades pass and the architecture of the centre shows the puritan disciplined style of Classicism. The vigorous town keeps growing and it is the second largest in size populated by about fifty thousand people at the turn of the century.

The dismemberment of the Communist block in 1989 brought fundamental changes into the city’s life. The first symptoms were macabre: the flourishing industries of Debrecen went under one after the other, because more than anywhere else in the country they were dependent on the undemanding Eastern markets. Nevertheless, freedom accelerated the economic transformation of the area and finally the city’s life was in her own hands. The Opposition’s Round Table (ORT) was formed in 1989 and they made an agreement with the management of the city in the local council about the general political etiquette to be followed until the elections. The first freely elected government of the city took office in 1991. Dr. József Hevessy, a majority formed by the Free Democratic Party, the Young Democratic Party and the National Democratic Forum elected physicist from the Biophysics Department of the Medical University. The ways of the future were from now decided with the participation of the general public and the majority of the citizens of Debrecen.

The grudges - sometimes going back to centuries - will perhaps be healed at last. The historical reconciliation was initiated by the visit of John Paul II in August 1991. The Pope laid a wreath on the Memorial of the Galley Slaves to commemorate the Protestant ministers taken prisoners in 1675 and to help the process of forgiving in the political climate of the day.

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