Hronský Beňadik Monastery

Do you know the “Pearl of Pohronie“? Let me introduce myself. My name is the Hronský Beňadik Monastery.

For many years now, I have stood on a rocky spur above the narrow valley of the Hron. My homeland is right there, where the so-called Slovak Gate is. In the past, it was the gateway directly to the rich mining towns.

My first inhabitants were the Benedictines. Even now, I still remember exactly how I was first written about in 1075. King Géza I. mentions the abbey that settled behind my walls. It was not always easy for me either. My Benedictine inhabitants left as soon as they heard about the arrival of the Turks in our territory. The mighty lords of the Esztergom Chapter took me under their protective wings.

They changed me beyond recognition, and I moved with the Renaissance times. To this day, I hide a relic of the Blood of Christ, which the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus donated to our church. It is said that he received it from Pope Paul II for his heroism in the fight against the Turks.

In my dark underground corridors, members of the famous Koháry family found their final resting place. The valiant Štefan I. Koháry fell in battle against the Turks near Levice.

What you may not know about me

In the first half of the 20th century, the monastery in Hronský Beňadik became the seat of the Salesian order, whose members made a great contribution in the village to the development of culture and social life. Later, they focused their activities mainly on the spiritual education of young people, which apparently did not suit the communist regime of the time.

In the years 1950 – 1951, events took place behind the monastery walls that are now known in modern Slovak history as Action K aimed at the liquidation of male religious orders in Slovakia. During the night of 13 to 14 April 1950, the Salesians who worked here were taken away from the monastery. In the meantime, the monastery became a centralization monastery, where Capuchin, Franciscan, and Piarist monks were temporarily housed, and later it was turned into a charitable home for retired priests.

Male religious orders remained in the monastery in Hronský Beňadik until August 1951. In November of the same year, nuns were concentrated here, and they were interned here until 1989.

A story to conclude

How did the Bulgarian tsar inadvertently contribute to the construction of the first automobile in Slovakia, the so-called Drndička?

One day, Tsar Ferdinand set out on a long journey home. He started from his favorite residence in Sv. Anton. The journey was going very well until suddenly, between Psiary, a part of Hronský Beňadik, and Kozárovce, the car stopped working. He quickly stopped, got out, and helplessly walked around the car. Suddenly, the local locksmith Michal Majer sped past him and immediately sensed an opportunity. He offered to repair the tsar’s car.

The incredulous Tsar Ferdinand just shook his head, but he had no other choice, so he agreed. Within a few minutes, the sound of the engine purred contentedly, and the car was ready to continue the journey. Ferdinand Cobourg wanted to properly reward his rescuer. Majer asked the tsar for the car’s documentation, wheels, and steering wheel. The tsar was surprised that the young locksmith asked for so little, but he did not hesitate and delivered everything to him. Michal got everything he needed and could set to work.

Through diligent work, he managed to build a unique machine. The first Slovak automobile, otherwise nicknamed the Drndička. It earned its name because of the sound it made when Michal raced along the bumpy roads of the time.

How do you get there?