Photos

I was on a trip with my family in Slovakia, when I took this photo. There was an old grumpy parish priest there, who told me not to take photos in the church. But I did. :P

Hronsky Benadik is situated in the Hron valley between the mountains Pohronský Inovec and Štiavnické vrchy, located around 40 km east of Nitra and 120 km north-east of Bratislava.

The territory of the village has been settled as early as in the Neolithic and in the Hallstatt period, but it is best known for a very important Benedictine abbey, which played in important role in the Christianization process and in the development of culture and education. It was founded in 1075 by King Géza I under the name "Monasterium Ecclesia Sancti Benedicti". The Nitra Gospels, the oldest Latin book (i.e. not just text) from the territory of Slovakia, were written here around 1100. The abbey ceased during the 16th century in the course of the Ottoman expansion in present-day Hungary. The church of the monastery contains valuable works of art (a wood-carving of the Holy Sepulchre, a wall-painting preenting the legend of St. George, an altar depicting the Passion, a sculpture of Jesus Christ from the 13th century, a Madonna sculpture from the 14th century, etc.). The abbey was declared a National Cultural Monument in 1945.

The village below the abbey arose in the 14th century and received a city charter (town privileges) in 1347, but was destroyed by the Turks (Ottomans) in 1599 and later re-built.