Abda

Abda is located 10 km west of Győr along Main Road 1. The settlement is just a few kilometers along Road 85 for those arriving from Motorway M1. By rail, the village is accessible taking a train along the Budapest–Rajka line. The busy highway passing the settlement and the bridge across the River Rábca has been instrumental in shaping the history of Abda. Along the main road, the traveller passes a Rákóczi Memorial erected at the bank of the River Rábca. While the captive leader of Hungary’s 18^th century freedom fight was being transferred to his future prison in Wiener Neustadt, a soldier fishing in Abda gave the Ruling Prince of Hungary a catfish as a gift. Francis II Rákóczi set the fish free, throwing it back into the River Rábca. The memorial depicts this symbolic event.

During Hungary’s 19^th century War of Independence, in the summer of 1849, a battalion lead by Sándor Kossuth defended the bridge of Abda against Haynau’s imperial forces. A granite obelisk erected right next to the Memorial Chapel built where the old village used to be honours the many soldiers who lost their lives here. The memorial may be reached from the direction of Győr via Road 1, taking a right turn after crossing the bridge of the River Rábca. Yet there are more tragic memories related to the village. Miklós Radnóti, one of the greatest representatives of modern Hungarian literature, was executed right outside the village in November 1944 along with 21 other Jews forced by the regime to perform labour service. A bust of the poet has been erected along the bank of the River Rábca with a memorial in the shape of a book of poetry. Entering the village itself, one should visit the church built 150 years ago in the Classicist style, the steeple of which guides the traveller to the centre of the village as it is visible in the landscape already from far away. In the square right in front of the church stands a statue of the Immaculate Virgin Mary dating back to 1700. The angling lake of Abda is popular with the anglers living around. With over 20 ha of surface area, this old fishpond is home to a wide variety of fish species and some specimens of exceptional dimensions.

Sources: http://www.abda.hu/, http://hu.wikipedia.org/, http://www.vendegvaro.hu/