Türje Premonstratensian Monastery

West view of the monastery church

The Premonstratensian Monastery Türje is a former monastery complex in the Hungarian county of Zala . The essentially late Romanesque monastery church Mariae Annunciation was built around 1230 under the direction of a French master and stands freely on a small hill in the village of Türje with the monastery buildings adjoining to the south .

history

The monastery was founded by Dénes von Türje (also: Dénes Szentgróti) before 1230, the church was not built until later. The first written mention of the monastery comes from the visit book (Hungarian: vizitációs jegyzőkönyvből ) of the Premonstratensians when a provost inspected the construction work on the monastery church in 1240.

Fülöp (German: Philipp) Szentgróti, the nephew of the founder of the monastery and later Archbishop of Gran , obtained privileges for the monastery from Pope Alexander IV in 1260 , such as the notarial right and self-administration and thus contributed significantly to the boom of the place and monastery.

In 1532, the first Turkish invasion caused severe damage to the church. The Reformation arrived around 1550 and the monks were driven out. Monastery life no longer existed for the next few years.

In 1566 the church was looted, set on fire and partially destroyed by Christian mercenaries from Sümeg Castle . The last provost, Benedek (German: Benedikt) Kövesy, fled to Veszprém with his brothers . The church was indeed renovated but from that point there were no Türje provost more. The office remained in place, but the office, title and rights of the provost were transferred to the bishop of Veszprém, András Köves, who had Türje expanded into a border castle against the Turkish attacks.

From the year 1720 the Premonstratensian order returned and settled in Türje again. From 1724 the new monastery was built under Adalbert Pintár, but no longer on the old square, but on the south side of the church. The facilities were completed in 1779 - with an interruption between 1740 and 1763. Until 1738 the provost's office was under the control of the Premonstratensian monastery in Pernegg near Horn in the Waldviertel. Then the abbot of Pernegg sold the Türje monastery to the Hradisch in Moravia (now the Czech Republic). From 1741 to 1786 and from 1802 the Türje Monastery belonged to the Csorna Abbey .

In 1785 the monastery was abolished by Emperor Joseph II as part of his Enlightenment policy ( Josephinism ) and its property was secularized . During the imperial inventory in 1787, the monastery complex consisted of 21 cells, two dining rooms, a chapel , an archive, an oratory , two heated rooms for the abbot, a kitchen and toilets. There was also a wine cellar, three pantries and stables and grain stalls . The monastery area was supplemented by the St. Anna chapel built in the 18th century on the north side of the complex.

In 1802 the Premonstratensians were allowed to return to Türje under Emperor Franz II . The new monks came from the mother monastery Hradisch in Moravia (now the Czech Republic). The abbey was no longer subordinate to the Hradisch monastery, but was again - as it had been from 1260 to 1532 - an independent abbey.

At the end of the 19th century, the first renovation took place under Nándor Peppert. During a further renovation in 1900, u. a. the frescoes were renewed and the pictures on the altars were brought to Steinamanger and replaced with copies.

In 1921 the towers were re-romanized and the tower hoods were replaced.

In 1948 the monastery school was nationalized and in 1950 the monastery was closed and nationalized as part of the socialization policy of the People's Republic of Hungary. After a period of vacancy, it served as a warehouse. Today the monastery rooms have been renovated and house a retirement and nursing home.

architecture

Bird's eye view of the monastery

The monastery church is one of the few brick churches in Hungary in the so-called Árpád style. The church is approximately 22 m long and 12 m wide.

It is a three-aisled late Romanesque basilica , which was later transformed into an early Gothic style . The basilica's floor plan has remained unchanged to this day. As was common at the time, it was oriented in an east-west direction, with two towers and the main entrance in the west and a small apse in the east. Gothic influences are clearly visible on the towers and the rose window.

The ceiling consisted of an early Gothic ribbed vault , which is only preserved in the rear part of the central nave, and is supported by two octagonal inner pillars.

During the construction work for the new monastery in the 18th century, the monastery church was redesigned in Baroque style. Among other things, the tower windows were changed, a new ceiling was put in and the Gothic rose window above the west entrance was redesigned in Baroque style.

On the north side there was a mostly wooden St. Anna chapel, which burned down in the chaos of war in the 16th century. At the same time as the new monastery was built, the chapel was also rebuilt in the old place in the baroque style.

In 1900 the exterior facade and the frescoes were renovated. The west facade was renovated together with the towers under Kalman Lux from 1920 to 1921, whereby the original condition of the windows before the baroque redesign was restored. In addition, the towers were given new, higher hoods.

inner space

Since the church was decorated in the baroque style from 1761 to 1763, almost nothing of the original furnishings is left. The oldest part of the interior is a stone tabernacle with a wrought iron gate from 1478 on the south side of the church.

The new interior of the church was primarily the work of Stephan Dorfmeister , who decorated the choir and the chancel with frescoes (Jesus' presentation in the temple; the Queen of Heaven; the four evangelists; all 1762/63) and made several large-format altarpieces. Some of the frescoes were later whitewashed. The village master's main altarpiece, the Annunciation, is now in the museum in Steinamanger, and a copy hangs in the church.

The side altar paintings Sankt Norbert and Sankt Augustin (all oil on canvas) were brought to the Premonstratensian House in Steinamanger during a renovation around 1900. Its current location is not known.

The St. Anna Chapel was also decorated with frescoes by Dorfmeister. It contains, among other things, the allegorical representation of faith, love and hope as well as Saint Anne. In the dome there is a representation of the birth of Jesus.

The rest of the interior such as altars, confessionals, pulpit and baptismal font also date from this period. Ignaz Kober's organ dates from the beginning of the 19th century.

Saint Ladislaus legend

Detail from the St. Ladislaus fresco

In 2005, a fresco from the Middle Ages was discovered on the north side of the church, which had been whitewashed for centuries. These are representations from the Saint Ladislaus legend; These representations exist only four times in Hungary ( Tereske , Ocsa , Vizsoly and Felsö-Tisza ) and represent a first-rate cultural and historical monument.

Legend tells how King Ladislaus I defeated the Cumans in a decisive battle in 1091 . During the fight his fighters ran out of water, and Ladislaus struck a rock with his ax, whereupon water gushed out. With divine help he was able to defeat his enemies. After his death near Esztergom , two angels carried his body to Nagyvárad (German: Großwardein) about 400 km away , so that he could be buried there in the cathedral he founded. When the sarcophagus was opened a hundred years later, his body was still intact. According to legend, he only sleeps soundly and will wake up when Hungary needs his help. The myth is based on pre-Christian Magyar tales from Asia.

seal

Seal of the Provosty Türje

The seal bears the Latin border PREPOSITVS CONVENTVS MONASTERI DE IVRLA (correct: Praepositus conventus monasterii de Iurla), property and convent of the monastery in Türje. The coat of arms figure Maria with the baby Jesus stands for the name of the church Mariae Annunciation. The sun, moon and stars are symbols of God's omnipotence. The slogan “Türje 1234” is not part of the monastery seal and was only used later.

List of the provosts of Türje

Santhus 1264.
A. . . 1268.
John 1279.
Nicolaus 1281.
Martinus 1301.
John 1303.
Stephen 1316.
Blasiius 1322.
Michael 1327-1338
John 1339.
Peter 1351.
John 1358.
Simon de Therle 1438.
Andrew 1451.
Martinus 1550.
Mathias Santich 161? –1636
Michael Prodszinsky 1668.
Michael Dvornikovich 1703.
Adalbertus Pintár, can. Pernecensis, Administrator 1703-1718, Praepositus 1718-1734
Leopoldus Walthum 1734-1741
Raphael Nolbeck 1738-1754; Abbot of Hradisch
Thaddaeus Schrabel 1754-1766; Abbot of Hradisch
Christophorus Girzik 1767–1770
Isidorus Tichy 1770-1786

From 1802 the abbot of Csorna was also provost of Türje

Stephanus Harsányi 1802.
Augustine Buday 1803-1816
Interregnum 1816-1820
Paulus Gyöngyösy 1820-1857
Emericus Szenczy 1858–1860
Vincentius Simon 1860-1884
Adolphus Kunc 1884-1905
Gregorius Burány 1906–1929
Hipploitus Gergy 1929-1935
Nicolaus Steiner 1935–1942
Eugenius Simonffy 1942-1945

literature

Alice D. Mezey: TÜRJE Premontrei prépostság (The Türje Premonstratensian Monastery). TKM Egyesület, Budapest 1992, ISBN 963-555-832-5 .

Imre Kovács: A Türjei Premontrei Prépostság története. (= Zalai Gyűjtemény. 32). Zala Megyei Levéltár, Zalaegerszeg 1991, ISBN 963-7226-08-7 .

Ferenczi Győző: Türjei történelmi vázlat. (historical sketches of Türje and the church), valamint a templomról 2001-ben megjelent kiadvány, 2002.

Norbert Backmund: Praemonstratense: Id est Historia Circariarum atque Canoniarum candidi et canonici Ordinis Praemonstratensis. Vol. I / Pars prima et secunda. (= History of the Premonstratensian Order and the Premonstratensian Canons, Volumes 1 and 2) De Gruyter Verlag, 1982, DNB 550804811 .

Remarks

↑ Imre Kovács: A türjei Premontrei Prépostság története. Zalaegerszeg 1991.

↑ premontre.info

↑ kislexikon.hu