Ráckeve - Serbian Church

About the mid-15th C the Serbs, fleeing from the approaching Turks, settled on the island and built an Orthodox church which was consecrated in 1487. Structurally this well preserved building has the appearance of a Christian Late Gothic church but with the division of the church into three being more in keeping with Orthodox liturgy (vestibule for the women, nave for the male congregation and the apse divided off by the iconostasis for the clergy). Particularly impressive are the apparently Byzantine frescos on the walls and vaulting (1765-71) by the artist Todor Gruntovics.

Concealed beneath is a 15th C. painting which is currently being exposed. Beginning on the southern wall of the nave is the Life and Passions of Christ and on the west wall the Last Judgment. In the center of the vaulting surrounded by angels is Christ the pancreator giving his blessing. The church decor also dates from the 18th C with a valuable iconostasis from 1768.