Hronský Beňadik (1920–1948: , 1948–1960: ; ; , until 1888: ; ) is a village in central
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
. It has a population of 1233 (2005).
According to the local tourist information officer, this is the site referred to in what may be the first written mention of present-day Slovak territory.
This version of events states that in 172 AD Roman Emperor
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...
had fought a victorious battle i
Hronský Beňadikwhen it started 'raining fire'. The panic this created in his forces led some of the closet Christians among them to start praying, after which the deluge abated and Marcus Aurelius cut short his campaign. The incident was later recorded in the emperor's own memoirs.
Geography
It is situated in the
Hron
The Hron (; ; ; ) is a long left tributary of the Danube[P ...]
valley between the mountains
Pohronský Inovec
Pohronský Inovec is a mountain range in Slovakia, part of the Slovenské stredohorie ranges of the Inner Western Carpathians.
The range is volcanic in origin, and composed of andesite and rhyolites. The highest peak is ''Veľký Inovec'' (B ...
and
Štiavnické vrchy, located around 40 km east of
Nitra
Nitra (; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra (river), Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of ...
and 120 km north-east of
Bratislava
Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
.
History
The territory of the village has been settled since 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 ...
and
Hallstatt period
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to ...
, but it is best known for a very important
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
abbey, which played in important role in the Christianization process and in the development of culture and education. It was founded in 1075 by King
Géza I Géza () is a Hungarian given name and may refer to any of the following:
As regnal or forename
* Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians
* Géza I of Hungary, King of Hungary
* Géza II of Hungary, King of Hungary
* Géza, son of Géza II of Hungar ...
under the name "Monasterium Ecclesia Sancti Benedicti". The
Nitra Gospels, the oldest Latin book (i.e. not just text) from the territory of Slovakia, were written here around 1100. The abbey ceased operations during the 16th century in the course of the
Ottoman expansion in present-day Hungary. The church of the monastery contains valuable works of art (a wood-carving of the Holy Sepulchre, a wall-painting presenting the legend of St. George, an altar depicting the Passion, a sculpture of Jesus Christ from the 13th century, a Madonna sculpture from the 14th century, etc.). The abbey was declared a National Cultural Monument in 1945.
The village below the abbey arose in the 14th century and received a city charter (town privileges) in 1347, but was destroyed by the Turks (Ottomans) in 1599 and later re-built.
Demographics
According to the 2001
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
, the village had 1,220 inhabitants. 98.44% of inhabitants were
Slovaks
The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...
, 0.41%
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
People, characters, figures, names
* Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas.
* Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun
* Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...
, 0.33%
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...
and 0.25%
Czechs
The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...
.
The religious make-up was 91.89%
Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, 3.28% people with no religious affiliation and 0.90%
Lutherans
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...
.
Notable People
Both members of the Slovak pop duo
TWiiNS were born on 15 May 1986 in
Hronský Beňadik.
References
External links
*https://web.archive.org/web/20070220044905/http://www.sacr.sk/article?id=112&category=18&lang=en
*https://web.archive.org/web/20090607180441/http://www.benadik-klastor.sk/
Photos of the MonasterySpectacular Slovakia travelguide - Hronský Beňadik: Fire from heaven
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hronsky Benadik
Villages and municipalities in Žarnovica District
Burials sites of the House of Koháry