Debrecen4U October 13, 2025

All roads lead to the Great Forest: this is how the celebration of nature unfolded in Debrecen

Hungary’s first protected natural area is the Great Forest (Nagyerdő) in Debrecen.

Each year, the city hosts a week-long series of events to highlight its importance. The Day of the Great Forest has long been celebrated by the Debrecen Forestry Division of Nyírerdő Zrt., with special attention given to engaging children.

This year, more than 400 children visited the forestry site, where they were welcomed with all-day programs. The hunting dog demonstration drew enormous interest—year after year, it remains the most popular activity among children, helping raise awareness of the value and significance of the Great Forest.

Love and respect for nature are present even in the youngest. As Zalán Dajka expressed, nature conservation is a shared responsibility: “I think protecting nature is important because without trees and forests, the air wouldn’t be clean and would be full of harmful substances. Animals and plants are also very important—without them, the whole world would be thrown off balance, and human life would be much harder.”

In addition to the dog show, children enjoyed photo theater, archery, board games, gingerbread making, and a team-based tug-of-war competition with oak-leaf wreaths. Over 400 children registered for this sixth annual celebration of the Great Forest.

The Great Forest (Nagyerdő) —named Hungary’s most beautiful forest two years ago—has been a designated conservation area for decades.

“Since October 10, 1939, the names Debrecen, Great Forest, and nature conservation have been inseparably linked. That was when six smaller areas of the Great Forest, totaling 36 hectares, were declared protected. It remains one of the symbolic sites of Hungarian nature conservation,” Zoltán Gencsi, tourism and conservation specialist at Nyírerdő Zrt., emphasized.

Preserving the Great Forest for future generations is a key goal for the city. Debrecen’s forest coverage is exceptionally high—even compared to the national average—exceeding 34%. When drafting the Green Codex, residents were asked for input, and among the 50 proposed measures, the Great Forest emerged as the most important to locals.

“The ‘Bring Water to the Great Forest’ initiative was the first step, and the continuation through the Civaqua program is progressing well. Designers are at work, and by mid-2029, the second phase will be completed, bringing water to the Great Forest and then onward to the Erdőspuszta lakes,” Deputy Mayor Ákos Balázs added.

Wreaths were laid at the memorial column entitled “The Rebirth of Nature” to commemorate the Day of the Great Forest. The memorial column was made from a 150-year-old English oak that had been uprooted, in memory of the declaration of the Debrecen Great Forest as a protected area.

The programs for the Week of the Great Forest 2025 can be found here.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu