The Bakonybél Abbey is a Benedictine monastery established at Bakonybél in the Kingdom of Hungary in the first decades of the 11th century. Its patron is Saint Maurice.

Bakonybél Abbey

Foundation (c. 1018–1038)

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The establishment of the monastery is connected to the activities of a Thuringian nobleman, Gunther.[1] He entered the Niederaltaich Abbey in order to do penance for his earlier sins, but later became a hermit in the woodlands along the borders between Bavaria and Bohemia.[1] He was related to Gisela of Bavaria, the queen of King Stephen I of Hungary,[1] and often visited them in Hungary.[2] Gunther even lived as hermit in the forests of the Bakony Hills near a royal manor at Veszprém around 1018.[3][1] Upon his initiative, another saintly man, the Venetian Gerard – who was appointed to educate King Stephen's son, Emeric – built a chapel at the foot of a nearby hill[4] where he spent seven years of his life as a hermit.[3] Gunther persuaded, in 1037, King Stephen to erect a new chapel dedicated to Saint Maurice, transform his royal manor into a monastery and grant his nearby estates to it.[3][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Györffy 1994, p. 152.
  2. ^ Berend, Laszlovszky & Szakács 2007, p. 338.
  3. ^ a b c Csóka 1994, p. 77.
  4. ^ a b Györffy 1994, p. 153.

Sources

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  • Berend, Nora; Laszlovszky, József; Szakács, Béla Zsolt (2007). "The kingdom of Hungary". In Berend, Nora (ed.). Christianization and the Rise of Christian Monarchy: Scandinavia, Central Europe and Rus', c.900-1200. Cambridge University Press. pp. 319–368. ISBN 978-0-521-87616-2.
  • Csóka, Gáspár (1994). "Bakonybél". In Kristó, Gyula; Engel, Pál; Makk, Ferenc (eds.). Korai magyar történeti lexikon (9-14. század) [=Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History (9th-14th centuries)] (in Hungarian). Akadémiai Kiadó. p. 77. ISBN 963-05-6722-9.
  • Györffy, György (1994). King Saint Stephen of Hungary. Atlantic Research and Publications. ISBN 0-88033-300-6.
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47°15′05″N 17°43′40″E / 47.251525842755576°N 17.727741215278375°E / 47.251525842755576; 17.727741215278375