The oldest printing house in Hungary has been operating for 460 years – with photos and video

Debrecen – in a unique way in Hungary – counting its legal predecessors – Alföldi Nyomda has been operating for 460 years, and with it the book printing in Debrecen. This was celebrated on Thursday at the institution at the Kölcsey Center. Today, the printing house employs almost 400 people and is present in both the domestic and foreign markets. For example, a significant part of the country’s textbooks are produced here in Debrecen.

The drama students of the Ady Endre High School also recalled the circumstances of the founding of the printing house, which was established in 1561 by the Protestant guest preacher Gál Huszár. His successors are constantly working.

Photo: Szabolcs Kander

– Gál Huszár wanted to be the light of all of Hungary and Transylvania. We, the late descendants, the employees of Alföldi Nyomda, believe that this printing house has fulfilled and continues to fulfill the mission formulated by its founders – said Géza György, President and CEO of Alföldi Nyomda Zrt.

Books called Alföldi Nyomda have been made here since 1949. Large-scale book production has become established since the 1960s, with several technological solutions appearing here for the first time in the country.

From its foundation, the printing house was able to rely on the support of the city and the Reformed Church.

“The intellectual treasure we reported here in the eastern part of the country, the Reformed, the people of Debrecen, were all embodied in the work of Alföldi Nyomda,” said Lajos Kósa, Member of Parliament.

The printing house has spent more than HUF 6 billion on developments since 2015, most of which have been used to improve production technology. Today, a significant portion of the country’s textbooks are printed here and employ nearly 40 workers.

– More than 20 million books are taken off the assembly lines every year, meaning textbook printing is only half the work done here. It is no exaggeration to say that, in keeping with historical traditions, Debrecen is still the capital of Hungarian book printing today – emphasized Mayor László Papp.

The Speaker of the National Assembly emphasized that in the last ten years the national public wealth had increased by more than 6,000 billion forints, the national self-consciousness and the sense of belonging, and the institutional system of the national culture had strengthened.

– In the framework of this process, the Alföldi Nyomda in Debrecen, among others, is owned by the nation-building Hungarian state, so that the institution, which is still equipped and performing at world level, can continue to play the role it will play in the Hungarian printing industry and culture for half a millennium. said László Kövér.

The jubilee ceremony was also colored by the productions of actors Kinga Újhelyi and Sándor Csikos at the Kölcsey Center.