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.

History

In the Middle Ages a settlement called Ábrahámtelke stood here, with a 12th-century monastery first mentioned in 1212. In the 15th century Serb refugees fleeing the Ottomans came from the south and called the place Little Keve, after the Kovin they had left, and built the Serbian monastery church in 1487; in the 16th century it was a respectable merchant town where István Szegedi Kis spread Calvinism, until it fell under Ottoman rule in 1541, and in 1701-1702 Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt built the Baroque castle of Prince Eugene of Savoy here (Wikipedia, Ráckeve).

What to look for

• 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.

Before you go

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.