Debrecen and Environs [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION Debrecen, situated in the middle of the most extensive and famous stretch of level land in Central Europe, the Great Plain of Hungary, is a town with an atmosphere all its own. The whole area could also be called the Hungarian Puszta (steppe) and its capital, for Debrecen lies in the middle of the famous Hortobágyi Puszta (200,000 acres). A few generations ago this region was a notorious haunt of highwaymen, and the daring feats of the Hortobágy horsemen lent an aura of romance to the district which lingered on for years after their final disappearance. Even to-day there is an exotic element in the attraction of Debrecen and the Great Plain, combining, as they do, to give the foreign tourist some idea of the characteristic tradi- tional life of a large provincial town in Hungary together with that of the nomad herdsmen of the surrounding plain. And all this lies within easy reach of most European coun- tries. Indeed, thousands of visitors used to come from faraway parts of the world to admire the sunrise over the vast Plain, to see the miraculous colours of the Fata Morgana, to ride the frisky, untamed horses of the Plain and to hunt wild