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Debrecen

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Debrecen

Debrecen (/ˈdɛbrətsɛn/ DEB-rət-sen; Hungarian: [ˈdɛbrɛt͡sɛn] ; German: Debrezin [ˈdɛbʁɛt͡siːn] ; Slovak: Debrecín [ˈɟɛbrɛt͡siːn] Romanian: Debrețin) is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and it is one of the Hungarian people's most important cultural centres. Debrecen was also the capital city of Hungary during the revolution in 1848–1849. During the revolution, the dethronement of the Habsburg dynasty was declared in the Reformed Great Church. The city also served as the capital of Hungary by the end of World War II in 1944–1945. It is home to the University of Debrecen.

There are at least three narratives of the origin of the city's name. The city is first documented in 1235, as Debrezun. One theory states that the name derives from the Turkic word debresin, which means 'live' or 'move.' Another theory says the name is of Slavic origin and means 'well-esteemed', from Slavic Dьbricinъ or from dobre zliem ("good land").[citation needed] Thirdly and lastly, Professor Šimon Ondruš derived the toponym from Proto-Slavic term *dьbrь (gorge).

The standard Romanian name for the city is Debrețin; however, Romanian communities in Hungary use the version Dobrițân.

The settlement was established after the Hungarian conquest. Debrecen became more important after some of the small villages of the area (Boldogasszonyfalva, Szentlászlófalva) were deserted due to the Mongol invasion of Europe. It experienced rapid development after the middle of the 13th century.

In 1361, Louis I of Hungary granted the citizens of Debrecen the right to choose the town's judge and council. This provided some opportunities for self-government for the town. By the early 16th century, Debrecen was an important market town.

King Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, as part of a treaty with Serbian ruler Stefan Lazarević, gave him the opportunity to rule Debrecen in September 1411.[citation needed] A year after Lazarević's death in 1426, his role was taken over by his successor, Đurađ Branković.[citation needed] Between 1450 and 1507, it was a domain of the Hunyadi family.

During the Ottoman period, being close to the border and having no castle or city walls, Debrecen often found itself in difficult situations and the town was saved only by the diplomatic skills of its leaders. Sometimes the town was protected by the Ottoman Empire, sometimes by the Catholic European rulers or by Francis II Rákóczi, prince of Transylvania. Debrecen later embraced the Protestant Reformation quite early, earning the monikers of "the Calvinist Rome" and "the Geneva of Hungary". At this period the inhabitants of the town were mainly Hungarian Calvinists. Debrecen came under Ottoman control as a sanjak between 1558 and 1693 and orderly bounded to the eyalets of Budin (1541–1596), Eğri (1596–1660) and Varat (1660–1693) as "Debreçin".

In 1693, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor elevated Debrecen to free royal town status. In 1715, the Roman Catholic Church returned to Debrecen, and the town gave it a place to build a church, allowing the Piarist monks to build the St. Ann's Cathedral. By this time the town was an important cultural, commercial and agricultural centre, and many future scholars and poets attended its Protestant College (a predecessor of today's University of Debrecen and also of Debrecen Reformed Theological University).

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