Local services
The Rotary Club of Debrecen celebrated the 30th anniversary of its re-establishment, and the programme was concluded with the unveiling of the city maquette.
In many cities around the world, there are bronze or ceramic sculptures depicting a part or the whole of a town in miniature. These sculptures tell visually impaired people about the buildings, streets, structure and form of the town, but they are also very popular as tourist attractions.
In Hungary, the Rotary Club of Budapest-Budavár has launched the “Tangible Invisible” programme, and nowadays, such a special sculpture can be found in several cities of Hungary. On Saturday, the Rotary Club of Debrecen celebrated the 30th anniversary of its re-establishment, and as part of the celebrations, the bronze sculpture of the Tangible Invisible was unveiled and presented.
The city maquette, created by sculptor János Lestyán-Goda, depicts the city centre of Debrecen from the Déri Museum to the Small Reformed Church (Csonkatemplom). It includes the Reformed College of Debrecen, the Reformed Great Church, Kossuth Square, the Old Town Hall, the buildings, sculptures and fountains on both sides of the Piac Street stretching to the Small Reformed Church. The names of streets, squares and buildings are also inscribed on the sculpture.
At the event, Mayor of Debrecen László Papp said that the city administration and the Rotary Club of Debrecen have been cooperating very well for decades, and have organised several joint programmes. He added that some of our compatriots “find it difficult or impossible to take in the wonderful sight” of downtown Debrecen, but the “subtle gesture” now being handed over will allow them to experience it too.
“We have placed a sculpture in the city centre, next to the statue of Kossuth, which makes tangible the historic buildings for which Debrecen is so famous and which live among us as symbols. I am very proud that Debrecen, the caring city, in partnership with Rotary Club has given the city centre a new shape in a sculpture, and the visually impaired can feel, touch and grasp the wonderful buildings that make Debrecen so wonderful,” the mayor stressed.
Mihály Duffek said that Rotary Hungary’s ambition is to set up a city maquette in most cities where tourism is more important. On the one hand, this will help people who are visually impaired or have no sight at all, but sighted people can also easily find their way around on the basis of the three-dimensional model.
“What is special about the Debrecen sculpture is its elaboration and artistic value. Often we only see space sculpture that only has slits and gulas, but what is beautiful in this work is that all the windows of a large building can be seen, traced, distinguished from the plain wall surface,” the president of the Rotary Club of Debrecen pointed out.
He added that the mission of the Debrecen club is to support and befriend people. They consider it important to promote health education and to send young people abroad to learn and gain experience. The newly inaugurated sculpture in the square, which “will be one of the most beautiful public artworks in Debrecen”, is part of this support, he said.
Kossuth Square is also home to an outdoor photo exhibition, which showcases three decades of Rotary Club Debrecen.
Source: dehir.hu | Photo credit: Facebook (Papp László)
