Ráckeve
Encyclopedia
Ráckeve is a town on Csepel Island
in Hungary
. It is situated in Pest}}.
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 official document in 1212 the first time.
In the 15th century many Serb
refugees came from the South, fleeing the invasions of the Ottoman Turks
. In 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
(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
variant of Reformation
was spread in the town by Szegedi Kis István.
In 1541, the town fell under Ottoman
rule, and most of its population fled towards North. Many Serbs who used to live in the town settled in Győr
and Komárom
. Those who stayed in the town elected a "duke" called Đurđe (1543-6). In 1567, the town was populated by (mostly Calvinist) Hungarians and Serbs
.
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 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
branch here. The holiday resort areas have been 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.
Rác is a name formerly used in Hungarian
to designate Serbs, who lived, among other, in the medieval Serbian state of Rascia
at the time Hungarians came to Europe and first met the Serbs. The town gained this name because it was founded by the Serbs and a large Serb population lived in it.
Keve is the Hungarian rendering of the Serbian name Kovin
, named after the town of Kovin
in Banat (Vojvodina
in Serbia
) 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 with the name of the original town in Vojvodina, known as just Kovin
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.)
There is also a theory that word keve in Hungarian is not just a rendering of Serbian word, but a word in its own right, of Hun
origin. Keve was one of the leaders of Attila, fighting throughout Europe in the 4th century. Since 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.
"Keve" also meant little stone, or pebble, in pre-modern Hungarian.
Croats from Hungary call this town Kovin .
Serb Orthodox Church in Hungary
from the 15th century.
The Catholic church was designed by Patay László. The Fresco-secco
in the church is worth seeing.
The Calvinist church is built in neo-gothic style in 1913.
The Savoy Castle
in central Ráckeve was built in the baroque
style in 1702-1750.
There is also an Árpád Museum.
Csepel Island
Csepel Island is the largest island of the River Danube in Hungary. It is 48 km long; its width is 6–8 km. Its area comprises 257 km². The word Csepel is pronounced CHE-pel....
in 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...
. It is situated in Pest}}.
History
After the Árpád dynastyÁrpád dynasty
The Árpáds or Arpads was the ruling dynasty of the federation of the Hungarian tribes and of the Kingdom of Hungary . The dynasty was named after Grand Prince Árpád who was the head of the tribal federation when the Magyars occupied the Carpathian Basin, circa 895...
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 official document in 1212 the first time.
In the 15th century many Serb
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
refugees came from the South, fleeing the invasions of the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. In 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
Kovin is a town and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 14,250, while the municipality has 36,802 inhabitants.- Name :...
(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
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
variant of Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
was spread in the town by Szegedi Kis István.
In 1541, the town fell under Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
rule, and most of its population fled towards North. Many Serbs who used to live in the town settled in Győr
Gyor
-Climate:-Main sights:The ancient core of the city is Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers: the Danube, Rába and Rábca. Püspökvár, the residence of Győr’s bishops can be easily recognised by its incomplete tower. Győr’s oldest buildings are the 13th-century dwelling tower and the...
and Komárom
Komárno
Komárno is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Komárno was formed from part of a historical town in Hungary situated on both banks of the Danube. Following World War I, the border of the newly created Czechoslovakia cut the historical, unified town in half,...
. Those who stayed in the town elected a "duke" called Đurđe (1543-6). In 1567, the town was populated by (mostly Calvinist) Hungarians and Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
.
In 1698, after the expulsion of the Turkish, the whole of Csepel Island
Csepel Island
Csepel Island is the largest island of the River Danube in Hungary. It is 48 km long; its width is 6–8 km. Its area comprises 257 km². The word Csepel is pronounced CHE-pel....
(Csepel-sziget), and thus Ráckeve too, became the land of the victorious Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy , was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rising to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV...
. 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
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
and Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
. Their descendents 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
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
branch here. The holiday resort areas have been 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
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
to designate Serbs, who lived, among other, in the medieval Serbian state of Rascia
Raška (state)
Principality of Serbia or Serbian Principality was an early medieval state of the Serbs ruled by the Vlastimirović dynasty, that existed from ca 768 to 969 in Southeastern Europe. It was established through an unification of several provincial chiefs under the supreme rule of a certain Višeslav,...
at the time Hungarians came to Europe and first met the Serbs. The town gained this name because it was founded by the Serbs and a large Serb population lived in it.
Keve is the Hungarian rendering of the Serbian name Kovin
Kovin
Kovin is a town and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 14,250, while the municipality has 36,802 inhabitants.- Name :...
, named after the town of Kovin
Kovin
Kovin is a town and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 14,250, while the municipality has 36,802 inhabitants.- Name :...
in Banat (Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
) whence most inhabitants had fled to settle in Ráckeve. In Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
, 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 with the name of the original town in Vojvodina, known as just Kovin
Kovin
Kovin is a town and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 14,250, while the municipality has 36,802 inhabitants.- Name :...
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.)
There is also a theory that word keve in Hungarian is not just a rendering of Serbian word, but a word in its own right, of Hun
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
origin. Keve was one of the leaders of Attila, fighting throughout Europe in the 4th century. Since 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.
"Keve" also meant little stone, or pebble, in pre-modern Hungarian.
Croats from Hungary call this town Kovin .
Sights
Ráckeve is famous for the only Gothic styleGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
Serb Orthodox Church in 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...
from the 15th century.
The Catholic church was designed by Patay László. The Fresco-secco
Fresco-secco
Fresco-secco is a fresco painting technique in which pigments ground in water are tempered using egg yolk or whole egg mixed with water which are applied to plaster that has been moistened to simulate fresh plaster. No white is used...
in the church is worth seeing.
The Calvinist church is built in neo-gothic style in 1913.
The Savoy Castle
Savoy Castle
The Savoy Castle is an 18th century baroque style castle located in Ráckeve, Hungary. Construction of the spacious home was begun in 1702 at the commissioning of Prince Eugene of Savoy and finished in approximately 1722. Prince Eugene of Savoy acquired Csepel Island in 1698, and thereafter began...
in central Ráckeve was built in the baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style in 1702-1750.
There is also an Árpád Museum.