Debrecen

Debrecen is a town of Hungary, capital of the county of Hajdú-Bihar, 143 miles (230 km) east of Budapest by rail. Population (2001) 211,000.

It is located on the Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld) and it is the second largest city in Hungary (or third, when Miskolc attach a small village faster in a never ending race to become the 2nd).

"Who in his sane mind would build a city in the middle of a plain with no hill and no water?" -- once people asked about Debrecen, yet the city has grown into a vibrant center of culture, arts and science.

The city has had a rich history since its founding. It was the European center of Calvinism (it was called Calvinist Rome), and even served for a short time in the 19th century as the capital of Hungary.

The city is unfortunately quite off the center of the Hungarian traffic system (one railway and one highway - the number 4 - goes there), so it is time consuming to travel there from western Hungary. The government has plans to build the #3 (eastern) dual highway longer (or to build the #4 (south-eastern) dual highway, which does not even exist) and reconnect the city into the fast flow of traffic and economy.

There is a big University at Debrecen, called Debreceni Egyetem (www.unideb.hu)