Europe
Hungary
Veszprém, German Weissbrunn
monastery

A brief description.

The Dominican monastery of Veszprém, 'Domonkos Apácakoloskor', was founded by Bartholomew, the Bishop of Veszprém in 1240, in honour of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. It was situated within the walls at the feet of the Traktor Utca (Castel-mountain).

During the Tartar invasion of the Hungarian Kingdom, the fleeing Béla IV made a vow to offer his not-yet-born child to Christ if the country was saved. When the Tartars withdrew to the East, the King, in conformity to his vow, gave his daughter, the princess Margrit (Margaret, 22.01.1242-18.01.1271), to the nuns of Veszprém. Later he founded a monastery for her on the Isle of Hares, the Hasen-Insel (Nyulak -Szigete) in the Danube River, Budapest. 

In the 13th century documents of the canonization process of Blessed Margaret we find several allusions to her young years spent in the monastery of Veszprém. The remains of the monastery's  one-nave church with polygonal sanctuary are situated in a valley under the Castle-Hill. The nuns left the place in 1552 as a consequence of the Turkish raids, and the buildings decayed. Significant parts of the monastery's  building lie under the neighbouring houses of the city, and the ruin site, open for visitors, comprises only the vestiges of the one-time monastery's church.

Sources: Internet sites.

Philately

The city of Veszprém.

Hungary

1958, Mi 1565, Sc  C195.           

The monastery of the Dominican nuns
on the right corner.

1973, Mi 2916, Sc 2200a.

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