JASOV

The Convent of St. John the Baptist in Jasov was founded no later than 1230, when the Premonstratensians arrived from Großwardein (Oradea). The original monastery was destroyed during the Mongol invasion, but reconstruction began shortly thereafter, and in 1255 King Béla IV reaffirmed the convent’s generous landholdings and privileges.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the monastery came under the administration of the Premonstratensians from Louka in Moravia. From there came Provost Andrej Sauberer, who, in the second half of the 18th century, had the original monastery demolished and replaced with a magnificent late Baroque complex. In 1774, it was elevated to the status of an independent abbey, but in 1787, Emperor Joseph II dissolved it.

The Premonstratensians returned in 1802, restored the monastery, and took charge of gymnasiums in Rožňava, Levoča, Košice, and Großwardein, where they educated Hungarian youth. In 1950, the communist regime banned the order, and the monastery was converted into a social care institution. The Premonstratensians returned to Jasov in 1990.

Today, the monastery complex—with its abbey church, library, and gardens—represents one of the finest examples of Baroque art in Slovakia.