BZOVÍK

The original Benedictine convent of St. Stephen the King was the third oldest monastery on the territory of present-day Slovakia. It was founded between 1127 and 1131 by Count Lampert of the Bzovík branch of the noble Hunt-Poznan family. Sometime between 1179 and 1181, it was taken over by the Premonstratensians, who came from Klášterní Hradisko near Olomouc. It is the oldest documented Premonstratensian monastery in Slovakia. The monastery complex consisted of a Romanesque church with two towers, connected to a monastic building with a cloister and courtyard.

In 1530, the Hungarian magnate Žigmund Balassa violently attacked and expelled the Premonstratensians from the Bzovík convent and converted the monastery into an anti-Turkish fortress. The Premonstratensians fled to Hronský Beňadik and never returned to Bzovík. The fortress later came under the ownership of the Fánči family, who bequeathed it at the end of the 17th century to the Jesuits from Trnava. The Jesuits had it rebuilt in the Baroque style. Since the early 20th century, the structure has been deteriorating, and most of the monastery complex is now in ruins. Of the original monastic buildings, only the Gothic sacristy—later converted into a chapel—still stands today.