Pornóapáti
Encyclopedia
Pornóapáti is a village in Vas
county, Hungary
, situated on the river Pinka
and Hungary's border with Austria
.
During the summer and autumn of 1989, Pornóapáti was a popular transit point for refugees fleeing the socialist eastern European countries, especially East Germany
. Its location, far from official border crossing stations and surrounded on three sides by Austria
made it a practical pedestrian escape route. Many automobiles were abandoned in the woods to the northeast.
Vas
Vas is the name of an administrative county in present Hungary, and also in the former Kingdom of Hungary. The county is a part of the Centrope Project.-Geography:...
county, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, situated on the river Pinka
Pinka
The Pinka is a river in Central Europe with a length of approximately 55 km. Its source is located in Styria, eastern Austria, next to the provincial border of Burgenland. It passes into Hungary between the villages of Burg and Felsőcsatár, and crosses the Austrian-Hungarian border five times....
and Hungary's border with Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
During the summer and autumn of 1989, Pornóapáti was a popular transit point for refugees fleeing the socialist eastern European countries, especially East Germany
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
. Its location, far from official border crossing stations and surrounded on three sides by Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
made it a practical pedestrian escape route. Many automobiles were abandoned in the woods to the northeast.