Debrecen4U March 19, 2025

Former chief architect of Debrecen, József Borsos was born 150 years ago

The commemorative year was opened with a wreath-laying ceremony, a building tour and a documentary film screening on the 150th anniversary of the birth of József Borsos, the former chief architect of the “cívis” city.

Several buildings in Debrecen commemorate József Borsos, whose life’s work the city pays tribute to with a series of yearly programmes.

Debrecen Public Cemetery, Hajdú-Bihar County Police Headquarters, Borsos Villa. A defining figure of Debrecen architecture was paid tribute to Tuesday in front of the building he designed as his family home in 1913. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of József Borsos’s birth, his admirers paid tribute to his statue and revived the significance of his work.

“We can say that his greatest achievement was the connection of the Great Forest with transport and other facilities to the city centre. He built many beautiful buildings himself and helped other architects create the new image of Debrecen,” Monument Protection Engineer Csaba Gajdos recalled.

The Municipality of Debrecen, DEMKI and the Debrecen City Protection and Beautification Association laid a wreath at the statue of József Borsos on the anniversary of his birth. Deputy Mayor and Municipal Representative of the district, Lajos Barcsa, pointed out that the villa stands as a memento in Vénkert, paying homage to the many emblematic buildings the former chief architect had noted in the city. “I believe that more and more people are coming across his name and the villa itself, as a community house has developed here,  the activities and now even the appearance of which rightfully bears the name of József Borsos,” Lajos Barcsa said.

The city of Debrecen is paying tribute to the work of József Borsos this year. Among other things, the Borsos József 150 exhibition will open on the 9th of April, a building tour will be held at the Public Cemetery on the 20th of June, and the documentary entitled “The Chief Architect” will be screened at Apollo Cinema on the 11th of December. According to Deputy Mayor István Puskás, József Borsos was an active builder of upper-middle-class Debrecen.

“He was born 150 years ago, and today we commemorate his birthday. But besides this beautiful anniversary, perhaps even more important is that many emblematic buildings still live with us today, which are still a defining part of Debrecen’s image, Debrecen’s built heritage and, with it, our common thinking about what Debrecen is,” Deputy Mayor István Puskás emphasised.

After the wreath-laying ceremony, Monument Protection Engineer Csaba Gajdos gave a tour of the building of the former women’s vocational school, today’s Chemical Technical School, the lobby of which is still an impressive example of brick architecture.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu