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FOR more than a 1000 years, the Benedictine monastery in Hronský Beňadik has stood where the river Hron leaves the mountains. The massive monastery complex earned its money from its huge estates, as well as from tolls from rafts travelling down the Hron.
The prosperous monastery was able to educate the locals in the surrounding villages. The Benedictines taught people to grow crops and make wine, and to process wood. The monastery was also the place where local property issues were solved, valuables deposited and documents verified and transcribed.
The monastery has seen numerous battles against the Turks as well, as it was situated on the restless Osman Empire border for 150 years.
This picture from 1930 shows the monastery as seen through the eyes of the artist Josef Holoubek.
By Branislav Chovan,
Special to the Spectator
