Fertőrákos () is a village in the county of Győr-Moson-Sopron in

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 ...

. In 2001 it had a population of 2,182. It is located at , about from

Sopron Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely. When ...

, near

Lake Fertő Lake Neusiedl (, ; or ; ; ; ), or Fertő (), is the largest endorheic lake in Central Europe, straddling the Austrian– Hungarian border. The lake covers , of which is on the Austrian side and on the Hungarian side. The lake's drainage basin ...

(German: ''Neusiedler See'') and the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n border. In summer, a

border checkpoint A border checkpoint is a location on an international border where travelers or goods are inspected and allowed (or denied) passage through. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-controlled borders of ...

for pedestrians and cyclists connects it to the Austrian municipality of Mörbisch am See (). The Fertorakos mithraeum is visible near the border. Fertőrákos also features a small port with a border checkpoint, and a sand beach swimming area, access to which prior to 1989 was restricted to the communist elite. The village was first mentioned in 1199 under the name ''Racus''. In 1457 it was first mentioned in

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

as ''Krewspach'', later ''Kroisbach''. Today, it forms part of the

n- Hungarian

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

and joint

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. Following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the village took part in a

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

in 1921 along with eight surrounding settlements, asking whether they wished to remain in Hungary, or to join the new

Austrian Republic Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Although the village voted 60.7% in favour of joining Austria, the majority of voters overall (mostly those in

) voted 65.1% in favour of remaining in Hungary. Following the occupation of Hungary in 1944, the new extremist pro-nazi regime established a 'transit/labour camp' in a quarry in Fertőrákos, to which Hungarian Jewish and political prisoners were sent, and many thousands died here, with others transported onward to Nazi

concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...

in German-occupied Poland and Germany. The site of the transit camp can be visited, and has a memorial plaque.

External links

Official website
Populated places in Győr-Moson-Sopron County {{Gyor-geo-stub