St. Catherine’s Monastery

 monastery, Congregational church, interesting place

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First third of 15th century – Gothic chapel made of stone on the site in the woods of Malé Karpaty mountains on rocky hill above Dubovský creek
Late 1500s – supposed apparitions of St Catherine to a shepherd, who built here a small chapel into a cave
1617 – recorded apparition of St Catherine to a ploughman Ján Manca, inhabitant of Dechtice. Noble young man Ján Apponyi, the son of a rich count from Jablonica, had come to live here as a hermit in the cave. When his noble family got angry and forced him to return home, he died of sorrow the next day. He is said to be hallowed.
The monastery of the Franciscan Order was founded in 1618 on the site where according to legend its appearance St. Catherine and the young count hermit John Apponyi. The monastic complex was built in early Baroque style with a late elements. Its builder was Italian Pietro Spazzo. In the 17th century monastery damaged several Turkish incursions or imperial troops, but always was renovated again. As a result Josephine reforms was the monastery was closed in July 1786. The monks had to leave this place, take inventory of the surrounding monasteries and villages, and construction began to deteriorate.
1619 – the new monastery had first twelve inhabitants
1645 – St Catherine’s monastery was plundered and set on fire during an armed rebellion of Hungarian nobility (Juraj Rákóczi I.)
1646 – reconstruction and rebuilding of the site led by the founder’s son Gabriel Erdödi with his wife Judita Amade. The church was substantially rebuilt to incorporate the original small one from 1618 as the chancel of the new one.
Around 1650 – Chordigers – members of layman Franciscan Order – started their caring for the sick and the poor here. Emperor Joseph II. abolished this fellowship in 1782.
1663 – monastery was attacked first by the Turks, later on by emperor’s army. The soldiers killed noblemen who were seeking refuge from persecution at St Catherine’s
1683 – another raid carried out on the monastery by the troops of Imrich Tököly
1697 – at the pilgrimage attended by a huge number of people – some soldiers tried to recruit young boys into the army with the use of violence. The crowd of pilgrims pushed the soldiers in the church and one soldier was lynched in this accident.
1701 – 9 January – the church tainted by murder was consecrated again. Juraj and Krištof II. Erdödi issued a deed of gift of 500 ducats for the church’s maintenance
1710 – 9 September – during a cholera epidemic very famous Franciscan monk Benignus Smrtník (1650–1710) died. He was the author of various religious books in Slovak, e.g. Kunšt dobre umríti (The Art of a Good Death).
In 18th century – numerous donors – mainly nobility but villagers as well – gave large gifts to the monastery. Families of noble origin built their crypts on this site (e.g.Erdödi, Apponyi, Labšanskí)
1782 – Juraj Fándly, the parish priest in Naháč, complained about his worshippers. Most of them preferred St Catherine’s church to the parish one. More to be read in his well-known book Dúwerná zmlúva mezi mníchom a diáblom, 1789.
1786 – 22 July – Joseph II. Emperor’s decree abolished St Catherine’s monastery as “useless”, together with 738 monasteries in the empire, which did not take care of the poor or educate the youth.
1787 – 22 January – monastery was transferred to state control. Valuable equipment and inventory were step by step moved to surrounding churches and monasteries, many of these were spontaneously stolen or lost forever...
1788–1792 - seven disabled former soldiers from Trnava lived in and looked after the deserted monastery
1793 – church crypts were plundered by three thieves
1797 – neglected objects of the former monastery were bought by Jozef Erdödi, as a tribute to his ancestors buried in the crypts. However, gradually the objects went to ruins.
1811 – calvary statuary, originally from St Catherine’s monastery, was brought by Erdödi family to Dechtice, the nearby village.
1835 – the last official mention of “guardian of St Catherine” – that time it was Jozef Kollár from Dechtice.
1869, 1891 – first historical publications dealing with St Catherine’s monastery appeared: authors such as Balázsovits or Jedlicska.
1905 – four above-standard sandstone sculptures of Franciscans, situated on the top corners of St Catherine’s church tower were moved to Pálffi’s burial crypt in Smolenice churchyard.
1995 – 3 July – picturesque ruins came to life again thanks to youth’s activity and their “Katarínka Order – the preservationists”


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