Rackeve

The town safeguards the common cultural heritage of Hungarian, Serbian and German ethnic groups. The holiday resort areas along the Danube Bank, the hot water spa and lido and the romantic world of the reed-embraced Angelic Island (Angyali-sziget) make it a popular location for excursions.

The settlement first boomed with the arrival of the Serbian settlers in around 1440. Fleeing the Turkish, the Serbians came from Kovin (Keve), a town on the Lower Danube (Al-Duna). At that point the town began to be referred to as Little-Keve (Kis-Keve), later becoming Rác-Keve (rác meaning 'Serbian'). The wealthy Serbians built the Blessed Virgin church in 1487, an architectural rarity to this day.

In the first part of the 16th century, the Turkish invasion also reached this area. 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 Prince Eugene of Savoy. 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 Hungarians, Serbs and Germans. Their descendents still refer to the place as Srpski Kovin or Ratzenmarkt.

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 branch here. The holiday resort areas have been developed in the 1970's, at the same time the hot water spa and lido were also established. City status was granted again to Ráckeve in 1989.

Popular annual events in the town are the Small-Danube Folk Music and Folk Dance Gathering (Kisdunai Népzenei és Néptánc Találkozó) in the second half of August, the Saint's Day of Blessed Mary orthodox church in late August, and the St. Stephen's Day Boat Procession with Lanterns on the 20th August. The 'boat market' below St Stephen's Square on the Danube Row is in itself an eye-catching and unusual spectacle.

How to get there:
By car take the bridge after turning right on Route 51 at Kiskunlacháza, or go down Route 6 and take the Lórév ferry, or alternatively, exit the M0 motorway at Halásztelek or Szigetszentmiklós and drive down Csepel Island. By public transport, take the suburban railway (HÉV) to Ráckeve.