The Hungarian Declaration of Independence of 1849, announcing the break with the Habsburg monarchy, was delivered here, and it has been a venue for the National Assembly on several occasions.
The church history
Its predecessor, a single-nave church, is presumed to have been built at the end of the 13th or the beginning of the 14th century by the landowners of the town. Later it was extended into a three-nave Gothic church. The trials of the centuries left their mark on the church, which eventually burnt down in 1802, in the Great Fire of Debrecen. This resulted in a new church being built for the town’s Reformed Christians. The Great Church was built in Neo-Classicist style and can house up to two thousand people. In 1991, it was visited by Pope John Paul II, who placed a wreath on the monument of the galley slaves in the Memorial Garden. Today, in addition to its role in religious life, it regularly serves as a venue for sung services, organ recitals and classical concerts.