"Monastery on the Hill" Pannonhalma by hartti

Pannonhalma is famous for its old monastery on the hill, although there is a little village, too. But nobody looks at the village, because the monastery steals all the fame by its huge size on quite high hill. I think the hill is old vulcanic mountain.

The first Benedictine monks settled here in 996. They went on to convert the Hungarians, to found the country's first school and, in 1055, to write the first document in Hungarian. From the time of its founding, this monastic community has promoted culture throughout central Europe. Its 1,000-year history can be seen in the succession of architectural styles of the monastic buildings (the oldest dating from 1224), which still today house a school and the monastic community.

I was lucky to have one monk as a guide who gave a lot of info during the way through the place. Pity that I did not have camera with, but still I remember well the huge rooms and large library having more than 3000 books from medieval time. Many thanks to my guide! (Picture here has been taken from Usesco pages, I hope they don't hang me!)

That time there was no winery, but nowadays there is a wine yard, too. Tourists may attend there tasting wines with professional guidance. I think I'll visit there another time sometimes...