ŠAHY

The Convent of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Šahy was founded sometime before 1235 by Ban Martin of the Šahy branch of the Hunt-Poznan noble family. The first Premonstratensians came from the priory in Kökényes, in the region of Novohrad. In 1242, the monastery was destroyed during the Mongol invasion. It resumed its activity from 1245 onward.

Next to the convent stood a twin-towered late Romanesque church, which, after the Mongol destruction, was rebuilt with Gothic elements. Due to the Ottoman occupation of Hungary, the monastery was converted into a fortified monastery-castle in 1546, which was then captured by the Turks in 1552.

Of the original monastery buildings, one Gothic wing has been preserved within the Baroque granary built by the Jesuits. From the late Romanesque church, only the entrance portal remains today, which is an important example of 13th-century stone sculpture in Slovakia.