Rackeve

Rackeve sits on Csepel island on a side arm of the Danube, and it was settled in the fifteenth century by Serbs from Keve who brought their church with them: the Orthodox church consecrated in 1487 is the oldest surviving Orthodox church in Hungary, a Gothic building whose interior was covered in the eighteenth century with a dense scheme of wall paintings, scenes stacked from floor to vault in a manner closer to the Balkans than to anything else in the country. The other building is the Savoyai mansion, begun in 1702 for Prince Eugene of Savoy to a design by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt, one of the earliest Baroque country houses in Hungary. The riverside is used for boating and fishing.

What you actually see

• The 1487 Orthodox church - the oldest of its kind in the country.
• Floor-to-vault wall paintings - the eighteenth-century interior scheme.
• The Savoyai mansion - Hildebrandt's early Baroque country house.
• The Danube side arm - the quiet water along the town.

When to go

April to October. Half a day. The church has limited opening hours and is sometimes only accessible by asking at the parish office. The HEV journey is slow.

Honest expectations

Getting there takes an hour each way on a suburban train. The church opening is unreliable and the paintings need light to be seen properly. The mansion has been used as a hotel and parts are not open. The town is otherwise plain.

Nearby

Csepel island runs north to Budapest; the Danube arm surrounds the town.