Founded at 1912, the state university began to operate in the Kálvin square building of the Reformed College in 1914, then it moved to the present-day Egyetem (University) square. The facade of the three-storeyed Main Building evokes the neoclassical design of the College. As a sign of the interconnectedness of the two institutions, the parapet on the Ceremonial Courtyard’s second floor is decorated with memorial plaques of the famous professors and students of the College and the University. The stained-glass windows of the Great Hall were made in 1938 on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the College by glass-painter Miksa Róth, who covered the windows with pictures of the Western-European universities (Wittenberg, Geneva, Zürich, Utrecht) that were visited by the peregrinating students from Debrecen. The Calvinist roots of Debrecen academic life are commemorated by the statues of the 16th -17th century preachers standing on the four corners of the Egyetem square, which is located in front of the Main Building. (Péter Juhász Melius was the leading figure of the 1567 Debrecen Constitutional Synod; Gál Huszar set up the first printing house in Debrecen, which functions even today; Albert Molnár Szenczi translated the Genevan Psalter into Hungarian; György Csipkés Komáromi was a Bible translator.) The University Church, also erected on the occasion of the Reformed College’s 400th anniversary, stands next to the Main Building. It was built in 1938-39 according to the plans of József Borsos. The building lost its religious functions in the 1970s, however, today it serves as the home of the Reformed University Congregation.
The Ceremonial Courtyard of the Debrecen University Main Building is open for visitors in the daytime.