DEBRECZEN, one of the largest towns in Hungary (pop. to3,000), is situated at the junction of three contrasted regions, viz.:—the extensive Hortobagy pastures or puszta, the Nyirseg sandy plateau and the marshes of the Berettyo. In early times it commanded two important routes, the salt way from Szat.nar to western Europe and the road from Bohemia to Transylvania, both traversed by important trade movements in the mediaeval period; it is still an important railway junction. It developed as a market centre with special interests in cattle and grain and as a walled town attracted numerous refugees from surrounding plundered villages during the Turkish advance in the i5th cen tury. Partly as a result of this the municipality acquired large areas of territory and now owns nearly four hundred square miles. Much of this was cultivated by farmers who maintained houses and often worked in the town during the winter season but of recent years villages known as tanyas have grown up in the surrounding district. The town tends more and more to function as the centre of economic and intellectual inspiration for its region through its fairs, its agricultural academy, its well-equipped university and its long tradition of spiritual independence which has made it the focus of Protestant ideals in Hungary and gained for it the name of "Calvinistic Rome." This outlook first de termined in the t6th century has caused a stormy history but strengthened its position in the national structure.
Apart from its agricultural activities many varied industries have developed upon a small and local scale, notably the manu facture of soap, prepared foodstuffs and tobacco.