BÁČ lies on Žitný Ostrov, a river island south-east of Bratislava, close to the town of Šamorín. Today’s village came into existence after the merger of three hamlets: Svätý Jur (St George), Svätý Anton (St Anthony) and Báč. It is quite probable that it was one of the settlements constructed in this region to protect the borders of Greater Hungary.
Today, Báč is famous mainly thanks to its monastery. Construction of this baroque building was started by Archbishop Lippay of Esztergom (or Ostrihom, in Slovak) in 1660. Work halted with his death in 1666 but later restarted under his successor, Szelepscényi.
Count Apponyi, a prominent nobleman, contributed generously to finance the interior. He also paid for the altar and, perhaps thanks to this, one of the church’s crypts became the burial site of the Apponyi family in 1782.
The monastery in Báč has experienced some disasters. While it was spared looting, it was struck by natural disasters. In 1718 a strong storm tore the roof off, and another one, probably even stronger, ruined the church’s façade.
In this postcard, probably from the 1930s, we see the church and monastery.
