Before
Hungarians occupied
present-day Hungary,
a number of different
tribes lived in the
area. The town came
into existence by the
merging of the small
villages of the area,
and was mentioned by
the name "Debrezun"
first in 1235. The name
is possibly of Turkish
origin.
In 1361 King Louis
the Great grants the
citizens of Debrecen
the right to choose
the town's judge and
council. This opened
new opportunities for
the town. By the early
16th century Debrecen
was an important market
town. Between 1450 and
1507, it was a domain
of the Hunyadi family.
Being close to the
border of the country
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.
This led the town's
citizens to be open-minded
and Debrecen embraced
the Protestant Reformation
quite early, earning
the moniker "Calvinist
Rome". At this
period the inhabitants
of the town were mainly
Hungarian protestants.
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