Debrecen, Grand Forest

Many cities have districts, famous buildings, whose names are known throughout the country. In Debrecen, the Calvinist Great Church is such a building, which I have already written about (here). But so is the Grand Forest. It stretches from Nyírség to the city, on sandy soil that is not very suitable for cultivation. When I was a child, we used to go hiking here and pick violets. It extends into the northern part of the city, where there is now a public park, the buildings of the University of Debrecen and the stadium of “Loki” the Debrecen football team. On the edge of the forest we find the public bath, next to it the Leveles inn, and between the two the commemorative monument of the 39th Infantry Regiment. The latter is the subject of this entry.

The monument was inaugurated on September 6, 1925. It was created by sculptor Miklós Ligeti. The obelisk is dominated by three Great War soldiers on three sides and a figure wearing a 1700s uniform on the back, alluding to the regiment’s long history. The regiment’s glorious history is also evoked by a letter sail depicting a scene from an 1809 battle of the Napoleonic Wars, near Neumarkt. But the regiment is even older, having been founded in 1756 by Count János Pálfy Erdődy to participate in Austrisa’s Seven Years’ War. You can read more about the regiment’s role in the Great War here.

I am attaching the regiment’s flag badge to this post, from the series produced by the Arkanzas company.