The Great Reformed Church of Debrecen

Debrecen has been the centre of Hungarian Calvinism since the sixteenth century, and its Great Church is the plainest large church in the country by design: no images, no side altars, whitewashed walls, a flat coffered ceiling and box pews arranged around a raised pulpit rather than facing an altar. Mihaly Pechy drew it after fire destroyed the earlier church, and it was completed in the 1820s in a restrained neoclassical style with a portico and two square towers. One tower holds the Rakoczi bell, among the largest in Hungary; the other can be climbed for a view straight down Piac Street. The Reformed College stands directly behind, with its library and its long teaching history.

History

A church stood here in the Middle Ages, and the Gothic hall church of St. Andrew built in its place between 1297 and 1311 burned in 1564; the by then Protestant citizens rebuilt it from 1626 to 1628 with the support of George I Rákóczi and added a tower in 1640-1642. The present Great Church, designed by Mihály Péchy, was begun on 8 April 1805, its 61-metre towers were finished in 1818 and 1821, and the facade was altered in 1823-1824 to plans by Károly Rábl; during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 Lajos Kossuth proclaimed Hungary's Declaration of Independence in the church (Wikipedia, Reformed Great Church of Debrecen).

What's there

• The interior - whitewashed, imageless and centred on the pulpit rather than an altar.
• The Rakoczi bell - one of the largest bells in the country, hung in the north tower.
• The tower view - down the length of Piac Street over the city's low roofline.
• The Reformed College - the school and library building immediately behind the church.

When to go

April to October, when the tower is open and the square in front is in use. Sunday mornings are closed to visitors for services. The Flower Carnival in August fills Piac Street with a procession and the church front becomes a grandstand, which is either the best or the worst day to come depending on what you want.

Things to know

The interior is austere to the point of bare and a good many visitors find it a letdown after the front elevation. The tower climb is up steep, narrow wooden stairs with no lift. Both church and tower are charged and the combination is not cheap for what it is. The rebuilt square outside has almost no shade. Debrecen is a two-and-a-half to three-hour train from Budapest and needs a full day.

Nearby

The Deri Museum is a two-minute walk behind the church, past the Reformed College.

Key facts