Debrecen, tucked into the southeast of Hungary, has undergone a renaissance in the past few years, renovating and updating its architectural wonders and city facilities. The neoclassical twin-towered yellow façade of the Protestant Great Church at the head of Kossuth Square is the symbol of the city, and the square is also home to the art nouveau, or secessionist style, Aranybika Hotel and one of the country’s largest musical fountains.

 

Because of the significance of the Calvinist College of Debrecen, founded in 1538, and the Protestant Great Church to the Calvinist community, the city acquired the nickname “the Calvinist Rome.” The university grounds are a great place for a stroll.

 

The county seat building on Piac utca is a stunning example of Hungary’s secessionist architecture. The romantic style Csokonai Theater on Kossuth utca dates from 1865 and has recently received a face lift. The neo-baroque Déri Museum houses a significant collection of oriental art and Egyptian artifacts, as well as two pieces of the well-known Christ Trilogy as well as other works by Hungarian painter Mihály Munkácsy.

 

Nagyerdő (Grand Forest) Park is home to the open-air and medicinal baths of the Aquaticum Medical and Bathing Center, with the adventures of the Aquaticum Mediterranean Pleasure Baths indoor water center adjacent to it. The latter boasts a wave pool, kids’ pool, baby pool, 12 slides, a climbing wall, slow-river corridors and massage jets, as well as a restaurant, massage, sauna and steam rooms. If you’ve got energy left after that, the park also has a rowing pond, playgrounds, an ice-rink, an amusement park, a 1,500-animal zoo, a sports hall, hotels and restaurants.

 

Just a short drive away – or join a “puszta tour” that could include a horse-drawn cart ride and an open-air goulash party – visit the great plains of Hortobágy and the Erdőspuszta. The Hortobágy, named Hungary’s first national park in 1973, is the largest natural grassland area in Europe. Here, cattle, sheep, oxen and horses roam, tended by herdsmen. Its premier sight is the classicist Nine-Holed Bridge, with a csárda (inn) on one end that has been around since the 17th century. The Bridge Festival celebrates the region’s music and culture on August 19th and 20th each year. Beware if you see an oasis out over the steppe – mirages are common here.