MaNDAHungarian National Digital Archive

“I do not know the circumstances that led to the establishment of Debrecen, but I cannot explain what could have induced thirty thousand people to choose a dwelling place where they have no springs, no rivers, no fuels and no building materials… ”The famous Englishman of the 18th century, traveller and natural scientist Robert Townson (1762–1827) put his impressions on paper during his European tour of Debrecen. His sentences are particularly interesting in light of the fact that the settlement was already known as a very rich city at that time. This week we will recall the glorious past of Debrecen with a virtual walk.

The artefacts of wars of ancient times will all get into museums once. Photos will as well as guns. At least most of them certainly will. But is it possible that one day the war itself, with all its means of warfare, will remain only a museum relic? While there are signs that humanity can learn from history, this learning does not seem to be commeasurable on a world scale.

The appearance of panel-mounted furniture has revolutionised the furniture trade. Something similarly grandiose was achieved by furniture manufacturing “Ford”, Michael Thonet, with his pieces of furniture made on a conveyor belt. His world-famous chairs were light, inexpensive, and very appealing pieces, as they also proved to be easy to assemble and solid, they became very popular not only in homes but also in coffee houses. This week, we invite you to a brief look into the history of furniture, for which we primarily used the interiors of cafés.

Panorama-type depictions were made formerly as well, but the word „panorama” has been known since the 18th century, when – mostly initially – it was the name of cycloramas. The wide range of vision and perspectives have key importance not only in case of creating a panorama view or panorama photos. Far-seeing, perspectival thinking is a characteristic of strategic planning, and the way of thinking of successful entrepreneurs and strategists. Thus, it is related to tactical operations as well. It is not a coincidence that fortresses that were important in military and tactical aspects were built on top of elevations, which made the observation of the surrounding landscape possible.

The former building of the ironware store is still one of the most beautiful apartment palaces of Üllői Road, but you can hardly notice it when walking in the street. You can see an inscription on top of the house “Heinrich Court” and a neon sign “Ironware”, which preserve the past of the commercial house as a memento.  This week, the family Heinrich’s story revives, which is actually the chronicle of a firm that prospered during five generations.