Debrecen, city in eastern Hungary, capital of Hajdú-Bihar county. One of the largest cities of the country, it is an important commercial center and railway junction, servicing a rich agricultural region. The chief trading commodities are grain, cattle, and hogs. Industrial products include woolen fabrics, leather goods, casks, soap, and foodstuffs. One of the city's notable buildings is the Protestant church in which the Hungarian patriot Lajos Kossuth proclaimed the country's independence from Habsburg rule in 1849. A university in Debrecen, founded in 1912, is named after him. Because the city has long been the center of Hungarian Protestantism, it has been called “the Calvinist Rome.” Between 1941 and 1945, during World War II, Debrecen served as the temporary capital of Hungary. Population (1999 estimate) 205,032.
