Photos

Relaxation in the university park

The construction of the grand main building of the University was completed in 1933. In front of the neo-baroque building we can see the most unified, monumental French style park of the city with a wonderful fountain and statues. The university church is visible in the background. The building was being built based on József Borsos plans in 1941. The building was empty after the war, the university's information technology centre was later. The university uses it as a church since 2007 again.

History of the University

The University of Debrecen, like many other integrated institutions of higher education in the country, was formed on January 1, 2000 by (re)uniting formerly independent institutions. Its historical roots reach back to the foundation of the Reformed College of Debrecen (1538), of which three academic sections later served as the base for the Hungarian Royal University of Sciences, created by Statute no. XXXVI. in 1912. With this past of more than 450 years, the University of Debrecen is the oldest institution of higher education in Hungary with continuous operation located in the same city.
Higher education in agriculture began in 1868, when the National Higher School of Agriculture was formed in Debrecen. The University of Debrecen having 19,000 full-time students out of a student body of 29,000, and having more than 1400 instructors is one of the largest higher educational institutions in Hungary. Its 15 faculties and 21 doctoral schools undoubtedly offer the widest choice of majors and other forms of training. The quality of teaching and especially of research is indicated by the fact that more than half of the instructors have academic degrees, among them 26 professors are members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Debrecen

For several hundred years Debrecen has been the natural centre of culture, economy and commerce in the Northern Great Plain region. Thousands of visitors come each year to this city which has a wealth of cultural relics and historic and ecclesiastic sights, as well as its festivals and spa. The medieval settlement was established at the meeting point of three regions; the Nyírség, the Hajdúság and the Hortobágy. The trade route connecting Transylvania with Upper Hungary (today Slovakia) and Poland crossed the town thus elevating it to significance. Due to conscious land purchasing policies Debrecen's territory was extended significantly during the 16th and 17th century and thus its border reached as far as the River Tisza. Based on aristocratic and religious values, the strict Calvinist leadership of the city always bore the interests of the populace in mind, efficiently protecting them. It is not by chance that Debrecen is the capital of Protestant theological education, a stronghold of the Hungarian Reformed community to this day. (Source: Vendégváró).