Debrecen4U September 26, 2025

The clockwork of the Reformed Great Church comes to life

The tower clock of the Reformed Great Church of Debrecen is now operated by a modern, GPS-controlled digital mechanism.

The nearly hundred-year-old mechanical clock mechanism has been resting in the attic as an exhibition piece since 2014. On the occasion of Tourism Day—as a result of city cooperation and active civil participation—this special miracle of precision mechanics came back to life on September 25, 2025.

Before the clock mechanism was launched, Mayor László Papp spoke about how no matter how rapid the development and change in this city, no matter how much Debrecen is advancing by exploiting the opportunities of the 21st century, traditions, history, and the city’s past are extremely important to all of us. As he said, “The structure is also a symbol of how well the city and the churches were able to cooperate in these matters as well, as the tower clocks of the city’s five churches were controlled from Debrecen City Hall thanks to a precision pendulum mechanism, which is also a symbol of how the city and the churches are connected in this regard as well,” he said.

The mayor recalled that the clock mechanism was dismantled in 1980, but thanks to the collaboration of the Reformed Great Church and the Small Reformed Church (Kistemplom), they will be able to breathe life back into this structure in 2025. “I hope that these structures will still be working in 50-80 years, and let there be a commitment between us to place this precision clock mechanism, or a plaque commemorating it, in the town hall, and let these tower clocks continue to work together, symbolizing the cooperation between the town and the churches, just as they have done in recent decades while they were in operation,” he underlined.

András Beszterczey, pastor of the Debrecen-Nagytemplom Reformed Church Parish, said that the function of the towers, certainly apart from being carriers of mortals, was to be tall, visible from afar, and to show not only the time but also the direction. According to the pastor, the structure symbolically represents the past, present, and future, and as the fabric of time, it can hold people, nations, destinies, and cultures. “I wish that all of us who are here spend our time in such a way that we are filled with the wisdom to realize and thank God that we are alive,” he concluded.

András Porkoláb, pastor of the Debrecen Kistemplom-Ispotályi Reformed Church Parish, highlighted that the trigger mechanism of the old clock of the Small Reformed Church, which is the heart of the device, has now been placed in the clockwork of the Reformed Great Church so that it can come back to life. He recalled that the two churches used to be one parish, and this mechanism symbolizes the communities’ belonging and attention to each other. “In the city of Debrecen, the neighborly relationship of the two churches becomes a reality in a special way; one heart, one soul beats, so that hopefully everything will serve the glory of God. The handing over of the heart always means the opening of ourselves. When we brought the heart of the Small Church clock here, we did not lose, but we became richer. Because sharing in love is never less, but always more,” he emphasized.

He added that the clock mechanism thus not only indicates the passage of time but also the common time of a city, the pulse of the community in which we are all at home. “Let it be a reminder to us: the time that God has given to us, who are here now, is a shared gift.And if we can work together with one heart and one soul, then the city of Debrecen and its churches will not remain just stones and walls but living witnesses of God’s love and the unity of the people living here. I wish that this clock mechanism, which is now running again, will signal to all of us that the time has come for meeting, community, and love for each other,” he concluded his thoughts.

Dr. Nóra Nagymáté Kósáné, the tourism manager of the Reformed Great Church, presented the history of the clock mechanism to those interested.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu