Ráckeve ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српски Ковин, Srpski Kovin) is a town on Csepel Island in the county of ,

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Its residents are mainly

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common culture, language and history. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

, with a minority of Serbs. The Serbian Kovin Monastery, the oldest in Hungary and one of two in the Diocese of Buda of the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

was built in 1487 in the center of Ráckeve. Also located in the center of the town is the '' Savoy Castle'' of

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

, which was built in the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style between the years 1701 and 1702 by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt.

History

After the Árpád dynasty was established, the region of today's Ráckeve belonged to the Hungarian king. In the Middle Ages, there was a settlement here called ''Ábrahámtelke'', and also a monastery built in the 12th century, mentioned in an official document in 1212 for the first time. In the 15th century, many Serb refugees came from the South, fleeing the invasions of the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

. At this time, the settlement was called ''Kiskeue'', that is to say "Kiskeve" in modern Hungarian. Kiskeve means "Little Keve" in English, and the Serbs in the town called it ''Mali Kovin'' = "Lesser Kovin", or ''Gornji Kovin'' ("Upper Kovin") in contrast with the name of other

Kovin Kovin (, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 11,623, while the municipality has 28,141 inhabitants (2022 census). Other names In Rom ...

(''Donji Kovin'' / "Lower Kovin") in the South, where the Serbs had fled from. In the 16th century, Ráckeve was a respectable mercantile town. The

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

variant of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

was spread in the town by István Szegedi Kis. In 1541, the town fell under Ottoman rule, and most of its population fled towards the North. Many Serbs who used to live in the town settled in

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

and Komárom. Those who stayed in the town elected a "duke" called ''Đurđe'' (1543–46). In 1567, the town was populated by (mostly

)

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

and

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

. In 1698, after the expulsion of the Turkish, the whole of Csepel Island (Csepel-sziget), and thus Ráckeve too, became the land of the victorious

. The new landlord had his mansion built in this settlement; it can be visited by prior appointment. In the 18th century, the arrival of German settlers increased the number of inhabitants in the town. Thus the settlement became a tri-ethnic location with

, and

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

. Their descendants still refer to the place as Srpski Kovin or Ratzenmarkt. The end of the 19th century, the Millennium period represented a great upswing in the life of the town. At that time, the original wooden bridge was replaced by a permanent iron bridge and the decision was taken to build a new town hall, which was later erected in the Secession style on the site of the original. A renowned angling paradise, Angelic Island divides the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

branch here. The holiday resort areas were developed in the 1970s, at the same time the hot water spa and lido were also established. City status was granted again to Ráckeve in 1984.

Name

The Name of ''Ráckeve'' in today's form derives from the Hungarian words ''rác'' and ''keve''. Rác is a name formerly used in Hungarian to designate Serbs, who lived, among other regions, in the medieval Serbian region of Raška (), that became the second designation for medieval Serbia, since the end of the 12th century. ''Keve'' means cemetery in medieval Hungarian. In pre-modern Hungarian it also meant ''little stone'', or ''pebble'', that was put on tombs. There is also a theory that the word ''keve'' is of Hunnic origin and it was the name of one of the leaders of

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

in the 4th century. Since the 19th century, the name Keve has been used as a personal name among Hungarians, due to the traditional theories among Hungarians on Hun-Hungarian historical relations. The Serbs named the place after the town of ''

'' in Banat (

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

) whence most inhabitants had fled to settle in Ráckeve. In Serbian, Ráckeve is known as ''Горњи Ковин / Gornji Kovin'' ("Upper Kovin"), ''Мали Ковин / Mali Kovin'' ("Lesser Kovin"), or ''Srpski Kovin / Српски Ковин'' ("Serbian Kovin"). This is to contrast it in Serbian with the name of the original town in Vojvodina, known as just ''

'' in Serbian and ''Keve'' in Hungarian. The Serbian word Kovin comes from the root "ков-" / "kov-" = "smith" (cf. ковач / kovač = ironsmith; ковница / kovnica = "copper mint" кованица / kovanica = "coin" потковица / potkovica = "horseshoe" etc.)

Sights

Ráckeve is famous for the only Gothic style Serb Orthodox Church in

, from the 15th century. The Catholic church was designed by Patay László. The Fresco-secco in the church is worth seeing. The Calvinist church was built in a neo-gothic style in 1913. There is also an ''Árpád Museum''. There is Hungary's only authentic old Ship mill. It was built from donations exclusively, and operated by "Ráckevei Molnár Céh" (Ráckeve Miller Guild). This is the most visited attraction in the city.

Savoy Castle

The '' Savoy Castle'' of

in central Ráckeve was built in the

style in 1702–1750. File:Ráckeve Savoyai kastély.jpg File:Ráckeve - Palace.jpg

Twin towns – sister cities

Ráckeve is twinned with: * Baktalórántháza, Hungary *

Calden Calden is a municipality in the district of Kassel in Hesse, Germany. It is located 12 km northwest of the city of Kassel, and the Kassel Airport is situated near Calden. Schloss Wilhelmsthal Schloss Wilhelmsthal is a Baroque château ...

, Germany * Ciumani, Romania * Dány, Hungary *

, Serbia * Nenince, Slovakia * Shom, Ukraine *

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

, France *

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

, Turkey * Borbona, Italy * Kalvarija, Lithuania * Nylars, Denmark

Notable people

* Jovan Monasterlija, Habsburg commander * Klári Katona, singer

References

* Dr. Dušan J. Popović, Srbi u Vojvodini, knjige 1–3, Novi Sad, 1990.

External links

* in Hungarian
Rackeve, Hungary Page

Ráckeve, Hungary, Home page of the town

Home page of the Ship Mill of Rackeve
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rackeve Populated places in Pest County Serb communities in Hungary