Veszprém, Dominican NunneryThis Dominican nunnery founded in 1240 by Bartholomew, the bishop of Veszprém was the first home for princess Margaret, the daughter of the king Béla IV. who had offered his not-yet-born child to Christ, if the Hungarian kingdom survived the invasion of the Tartars. The vestiges of the nunnery-church can be visited at the foot of the Vár Hill, but major part of the monastery building is situated under the nearby houses.
The Dominican nunnery of Veszprém was founded by Bartholomew, the bishop of Veszprém in 1240, in the honour of Saint Catherine. During the Tartar invasion of the Hungarian kingdom, the fleeing Béla IV. made a vow to offer his not-yet-born child to Christ if the country was saved. When the Tartars withdrew to the East, the king, in conformity to his vow, gave his daughter, the princess Margaret, to the nuns of Veszprém, and later founded a new nunnery for her in the Isle of Hares. In the 13th century documents of the canonization process of Blessed Margaret we find several allusions to her younghood spent in the nunnery of Veszprém. The remains of the nunnery’s one-nave church with polygonal sanctuary are situated in a valley under the Castle-Hill. The nuns left the place in 1552 as a consequence to the Turkish raids, and the buildings decayed. Significant parts of the monastery building lie under the neighbouring houses of the city, and the ruin site, open for visitors, comprises only the vestiges of the one-time nunnery-church. |
Hungary Monasteries