There was already a fortified manor house on the bishopric of Győr’s Fertőrákos estate in the 14th century. King Matthias stayed here many times between 1481 and 1486 as guest of Bishop Orbán Dóczy (who the king also appointed bishop of the occupied Austrian territory after his occupation of Vienna).In 1594, when Győr fell into the hands of the Turks, the summer residence now expanded into a palace became the centre of the bishopric. After the Turkish ravishes of 1683, the conversion of the palace to Baroque-Rococo began. The coats-of-arms of György Széchényi, Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz and Ferenc Zichy, who commissioned the works which took until the mid-18th century, adorn the main facade.The ceiling of the upstairs dining room is decorated with a fresco capturing the “triumph of Faith”. There are plaster stucco decorations as well as pictures depicting scenes from Greek mythology and the Bible on the walls of several rooms. The remaining Rococo stoves were made by Károly Magner, a master craftsman from Győr. Bishop János Simor established the first glass-painting workshop in Hungary here, which was in operation until 1867.The palace’s vaulting features an allegorical fresco and its altarpiece depicts the coronation of the Virgin Mary and the Holy Trinity. There was once an ornamental garden with fountains around the palace and in front of its facade. Two huge vaulted cellars extend beneath the building. Legend has it that the passage starting from one, fallen in today, may have led to the forest beyond the stream or all the way to Sopron.
When Lake Fertő dried up in 1869, the Rákos villagers went on foot to the Moson County pilgrimage site Boldogasszony on the other side of the lake to pray for the water to return to its bed. The chapel was built in 1872 on the outskirts of Fertőrákos, in the area of Virágos-major, for the servants living there and consecrated in honour of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There is some Latin text on the tower referring to Mary: “Ego sum flos campi”, that is “I am the flower of the meadows”. The tiny building was renovated in 1992 and restored to its original beauty.
The Small Chapel, built in 1714, originally stood on a six-metre-high, probably artificial, mound at the edge of the village next to the Balf road. When Kisrákosi Street was built, a fisherman named Kamper applied for a piece of land in 1936 to build his home. He received the permit on condition that he move the Small Chapel to the village, rebuild it there from carved stones and erect a new statue on its former site. There is a statue of the Virgin Mary in the recess closed with a grille. Also known as the Fisherman’s Chapel, the building’s facade features a stone cross as well as German text above its door. Four of the village’s many public works are outstanding: the Holy Trinity erected after the Turkish defeat in Vienna in 1683, the St Sebastian from 1721, the statues of St John of Nepomuk and St Michael erected in 1731 and 1643, respectively. There is a statue of St Donat standing on a four-metre-high column on Kovács Hill.
György Széchényi Bishop of Győr had the old church demolished as well as rebuilt and expanded in 1662. He also had the building restored after it was destroyed by the Turks retreating from Vienna in 1683. The church with its ornate tower with a stone-balustraded balcony gained its present form in 1777. Its high altar, side altars, pulpit and Rococo pews were also created at that time. The two defining elements of the structure behind the main altar reflect the two consecrated names of the church, “dedicated to the name of St Nicholas and Our Lord’s Ascension”. These are the gilded statue of the eponymous bishop above it and the painting depicting Jesus ascending to heaven below it. The monumental composition also includes the Zichy coat-of-arms above the picture as well as the statues of King St Stephen and St Emeric standing guard on both sides. The altar itself is comprised of entirely gold-clad carving: the tabernacle door is a relief depicting Abraham’s sacrifice of his son, the angels and the Lamb sitting on the seven-sealed book. The pulpit’s reliefs, also gilded, depict the baptism of Jesus, the selection of the apostles and the scene of the Sermon on the Mount. There is a small statue of Jesus and John the Baptist on the cover of the 17th-century painted stone baptismal font. The five-piece Baroque organ was donated by Bishop Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz (the first prince-primate of Hungary). There is a Baroque painting depicting the coronation of the Virgin Mary and the Trinity on the side wall of the sanctuary. A picture of St Cayetan giving thanks for the end of the plague hangs below the window on the north wall. As well as this popular saint of the time, the work also includes a German-language prayer and the exact date (7 December 1713). The plaques above the Stations of the Cross invoke Jesus’s memorable meals: the first is the wedding at Cana, the second the feast in the house of Simon the Pharisee, the third the Last Supper and the fourth picture the moment of breaking bread that opened the eyes of the disciples in Emmaus.