Dömös is a village in Komárom-Esztergom County in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Setting, geography

Dömös is located on the right side of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

, 16 km from

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

and 45 km from

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. The also beautiful town, Visegrád is located 5 km east from Dömös. The highway No. 11 cross the village. It has a railway station on the other side of the Danube, on the

– Szob railway line. A shuttle transport on the river.

History

The site has been populated since ancient times. Archaeology revealed men and settlements, instruments and animal bones from hunting and fireplaces dating to the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

. A tomb of a

Copper Age The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in dif ...

man was also found (2500-1900 BC). In the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

a 500x500 meter fortress from gounddams (1000 BC). There are guard towers from the Roman Period, which were built along the Danube line of the

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

region's border, which formed a frontier of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. (Tófenék). After the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

, the Avars arrived in 568 and ruled the area until the 9th century. Bronze belt buckles, horse and warrior mounts, ceramics of the Avarian age were excavated from warrior's tombs. (Malom-creek valley).

Árpád dynasty age

There is a groundwork fortress on the top of the Árpád hill from the Hungarian conquest time. The

turn gives a good fortification locality and the region was royal domain during the Árpád house kings of Hungary. The region was named Pilis forest. The royal palace and the neighbouring

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

played and important role in the life in the 11th century. Specifically, the life of Béla I of Hungary ended here in 1063. The earliest charter was given out by

Ladislaus I of Hungary Ladislaus I (, , , ; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and Richeza of Poland, Queen of Hungary, Richeza (or Adela ...

in 1079. In the 12th century Coloman of Hungary decided about the continuation of the throne for

Stephen II of Hungary Stephen II (; ; ; 1101 – early 1131), King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia, ruled from 1116 until 1131. His father, King Coloman, had him crowned as a child, thus denying the crown to his uncle Álmos, Duke of Croatia, Álmos. In t ...

against the later king Béla II of Hungary. In the Mongolian invasion (1241) the monastery was destroyed, but rebuilt soon. The provost of the monastery also served the king and the royal family. Provost Fülöp was the chancellor of the queen during the times of Béla II of Hungary.

Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elect ...

, who was Zsigmond, king of Hungary, gave the monastery to the dominicant order. (1433-1446). János Hunyadi governor also gave the monastery back to his preferred priest, to Hosszuaszai Bothos István. Pope Alexander VI decided to move the monastery to the diocese of Nyitra. Since that time the Bishop of Nyitra became the provost of Dömös. In 1526 the Turks destroyed the monastery. The ruins stood in the 18th century. The stones from the ruin were used to build the new catholic church of the village.

Sightseeings

The ruins of the Dömös monastery, and the subchurch can be visited. Beautiful heads of columns were preserved and the original carvings can be found in the National Museum in Budapest.

References

* Gerő, L. (1984): Magyar műemléki ABC. (Hungarian Architectural Heritage ABC.) Budapest * Henszlmann, I. (1876): ''Magyarország ó-keresztyén, román és átmeneti stylü mű-emlékeinek rövid ismertetése'', (Old-Christian, Romanesque and Transitional Style Architecture in Hungary). Királyi Magyar Egyetemi Nyomda, Budapest * Bérczi Szaniszló, Bérczi Zsófia, Bérczi Katalin: ''Románkori templomkapuk: régi és új műveltség egymásrarétegződése a románkori templomok épületszobrászatában, kapukon és oszlopokon''. (Romanesque doorways: stratification of old and new culture in the architecture and sculptures of the Romanesque Architectural Style.) TKTE, Piremon, 1997.

External links

Street map (Hungarian)

Dömös village homepage

Dömös on the Vendégváró homepage

Aerial photographs from the monastery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Domos Romanesque architecture in Hungary