Hajdú-Bihar County

Hajdú-Bihar county is in Northern Great Plain. The natural endowments of the county offer horseback riding, fishing and cycling. The favourable climate, the short spring and the long, sunny autumn provide opportunities for hiking. The county is rich in thermal and medicinal water treasure, beaches and spas.

Its principal city, Debrecen, is covered in its own article. Hortobágy National Park and the nearby town of Balmazújváros are also covered separately.

Polgár and Tiszacsege are described in the Lake Tisza article.

The county of Hajdú-Bihar occupies the eastern part of Hungary. Most of its territory is completely flat and is part of the Pannonian Plain region (called the Grand Plain in the country). There are two great rivers in this area, the Tisza and the Körös. The western part is the Hortobágy National Park ("Puszta"), a large flat area of the country.

Agriculture plays a leading role in the economic life of the county , as this area is the largest agricultural area in Hungary. Animal husbandry is the sector that provides the highest value of the county's agricultural production. Within crop production, maize, wheat, sunflower, sugar beet and potatoes are dominant.

Highways no. 4, 33, 35, 42 and 47 lead to the county and the county can also be reached via the M3 motorway (this motorway is now a spur to Debrecen).

Hajdú-Bihar county can be reached by train on the main line Budapest - Szolnok - Debrecen - Nyíregyháza - Záhony 100. Debrecen has one of the best junctions in the country with a railway network, and the network of main and branch lines covers the county well.

Debrecen International Airport receives flights on WizzAir, a low-cost carrier.

• 🌍 Balmazújváros. This town is proud of its culture and traditions. The town keeps and cultivates its traditions, especially local folk crafts. 
• 🌍 Berettyóújfalu. – Broken Tower 
• 🌍 Hajdúdorog. – Greek Catholic Cathedral 
• 🌍 Hajdúnánás. Ostrich Farm 
• 🌍 Hajdúszoboszló (19 km southwest of Debrecen). This is a very nice bath city, also excellent for a day trip. Remains of fort wall, Bell House, Europe's largest bath 
• 🌍 Hortobágy. The biggest national park in Hungary is a UNESCO World Heritage site. 
• 🌍 Monostorpályi. Reformed church and granary buildings (tubusmagtár) 
• 🌍 Nagykereki. Bocskai castle 
• 🌍 Nyíracsád. Reformed Church 
• 🌍 Püspökladány. St. Agatha bridge 

Ideal place for green tourism, horse riding, fishing and cycling

• 🌍 Hajdúbagos– Grounddog-Reserve (Hajdúbagosi földikutya rezervátum Természetvédelmi terület,) (Bus to Sáránd further three km walk). 

Spas in Hajdúszoboszló, Debrecen, Hajdúnánás

Thermal baths:

• 🌍 Püspökladány (Püspökladányi Gyógyfürdő), Petőfi Sándor utca 62, ☏ +36 54 451063. 
• Hajdúböszörmény, Hajdúdorog, Nádudvar, Berettyóújfalu, Balmazújváros, Földes, Kaba, Komádi, Polgár, Tiszacsege

Events:

• Virágkarnevál (Flower Carnival) in Debrecen, (20 August).
• Hídi Vásár (Bridge Fair) in Hortobágy,
• Equestrian Festival in Komádi

Hajdú-Bihar County has a long tradition of preserving and nurturing the folk culture that has crystallized over the centuries. There are still old masters alive who preserve and pass on the former craft traditions. Pottery is still a living craft, the making of ancient black pottery in Nádudvar and the gingerbread craft in Debrecen, Hajdúböszörmény. The art of filter embroidery and appliqué is practised by many in the area of ​​Debrecen, Derecske and Nádudvar. The white embroidery in Nagyt and Kissárréti in Furta, and Komádi. They mainly make foal leather bottles at an artistic level. In part, tourism keeps alive the leather-working, scratching, inlaying technique known as “shepherd art”. They make hoops, leather knife holders, boxes. The cultivators of the old handicrafts and folk crafts offer a wide range of their products at the big fairs (Debrecen, Hortobágy).

Important workshops for the revival and nurturing of folk art traditions, as well as for the acquisition and cultivation of folk applied arts, have been established in Debrecen, such as the Folk Art Creative House and the Tanner's House. The original traces of traditional folk life can only be found in the Hortobágy National Park, mainly in the Hortobágy National Park. Elsewhere, the preservation of ethnographic values ​​is mainly the responsibility of museums, country houses, traditional dance and singing circles, handicrafts, and, above all, ethnography.

The typical dishes of the county are the "slave soup" from Hajdúság, the goulash soup made from beef, vegetables and potatoes, the meat pancakes from Hortobágy as an appetizer, and the stuffed cabbage from Debrecen, the steak from Hortobágy and the turkey meat prepared in various ways. For the richly spiced local specialties, plum and peach brandy are consumed, and a wide selection of dry Great Plain wines is used as a companion drink. Real food specialties are shepherd's dishes cooked in an open fire and in a cauldron: slambuc, mutton stew and cauldron goulash. The delicacy of Debrecen and its surroundings is the dübbencs (dill pie stuffed with sheep's curd).