Plains

The Hungarian Great Plain /Az Alföld/

A large plain in the central part of the Carpathian Basin, the largest single region in Hungary. The Great Plain occupies nearly half of Hungary's total territory. Its lowest point calculated on a sea level basis is 78 m, the highest point is 220 m. Some four million people live in this region, whose area covers 50,800 sq km. Its biggest cities include Debrecen (210,000 residents), the economic and cultural center of the Northeast region beyond the Tisza, Nyíregyháza (113,000), the center of the Nyírség region, Szeged (169,000 residents), situated along the banks of the river Tisza and representing the center of the southern part of the Great Plain, and Kecskemét (104,000), the biggest city in the Duna-Tisza central region.
Conditions on the Great Plain are primarily favorable for plant cultivation and stock breeding. The system of villages which developed in line with this life were earlier marked by small farms, and widely dispersed villages, and by scattered smaller towns. This region is, however, not only the largest but also the most vital agricultural area of Hungary. This is where the most grain, maize and industrial crops, the largest numbers of vegetables, grapes and fruits are grown. The largest numbers of pigs, sheep, cattle and poultry are bred here.
The economic crisis, initially latent before it suddenly erupted in the past decade, also shook agriculture, which had previously far surpassed the average standards of Central East European countries. Since the change of political regime, there has been a radical transformation of the ownership pattern in the area (earlier marked by the excessive number of cooperative and state properties).
The Hungarian Great Plain offers a number of natural and cultural sights to the traveler. The Hortobágy Puszta (63,000 hectares), situated in the eastern part of the region, is a remarkable rarity and nature protected area with its plain and steppe-like flora. The Debrecen College, founded in the 1500s, houses one of the largest libraries in Hungary.
Hajdúszoboszló is a finely developed very famous spa resort. The Open Air Festivals, regular fixtures in international cultural calendars, are staged in the famous Dóm square in Szeged. Kalocsa is an original folk art regional center of the Duna-Tisza region.
As regards industry, the food and light industries played a key role for many years in the Hungarian Great Plain. However, the exploitation of crude oil and natural gas, machine engineering and the deployment of chemical engineering in the southern Hungarian Great Plain has changed this state of affairs.