Fortified premonstratensian monastery is a sacral complex from the 12th century located on the outskirts of the village Leles in the southeast of Slovakia
The Gothic church closes on the southern side the three-storey building. The Gothic building from 1315 - 1366 forms the southern wing of the four-axis massif of the monastery, closing the central courtyard of the once encircled arcades of the cloister. On the east side, the church is supported by pillars, which also divide the polygonal apse of the chapel and continue outside the church in the east. The chapel is situated in the southern wing of the monastery together with the church. The central courtyard has Renaissance arcades. The church is single-nave with polygonal presbytery closure. On the west side it has a rebuilt tower in baroque style with a bell tower.In the monastery building there are Renaissance comb vaults on the ground floor, while on the floors there are straight ceilings. Baroque wrought-iron lattice closes on the ground floor staircase leading to the first floor. Gothic cross vaults have been preserved in the church and chapel.After archaeological research, 29 objects and 36 graves were found in the interior of the Garden of Eden, which, together with the findings from 2013, consists of 54 graves, most of them dating from the 11th century. Other findings include a block building of an older monastery made of chaff bricks (12th - 13th centuries). The Garden of Eden is the so-called. cloister, it is a place where in the middle is located water symbolizing baptism, the source of life, new life and around the rectangle, respectively. in the quartet, there were religious who lived in the monastery and prayed.St.Cross Church - It was built in the years 1315 - 1366. The building was Baroque during the 17th and 18th centuries, it was renovated only in 1892. At present, the eastern wing of the monastery, which also includes the Gothic chapel of St. Michala. The church is a single nave with a polygonal presbytery closure. The space of the church is closed by cross vaults with ribbed ribs reaching for brackets and supports. These are finished with consoles with Gothic acanthus. The interior also features semi-circular Baroque windows typical of 17th-century architecture, as well as a Baroque triumphal arch. The late Baroque pulpit built in the middle of the 18th century is diverse in its carvings and in the number of statues located not only on the windowsill but also on the canopy roof.St. Michal's chapel - in the southeast corner of the monastery, right next to the sacristy, there is a chapter hall, now known as the Chapel of Sts. Michala. The chapel has a longitudinal rectangular plan with a polygonal closure in the east. It is illuminated by three Baroque semicircular windows, under which are the remains of the lining of the original Gothic windows. In the corners there are remnants of gothic consoles, while some of the ribbed vaults have been partially preserved. The paintings in the chapel were divided into four horizontal strips. The lowest strip was totally damaged due to the damp walls. On the south side of the chapel there is a painting dedicated to the Last Judgment. The paintings on the northern side were much more damaged and therefore even more difficult to identify. The Gothic paintings of the chapel, which have been preserved, testify to the prominent position of the Premonstratensians.
- 1 - paradise yard
- 2 - chapel
- 3 - church
- 4 - bell tower
- 5 - corner towers
The first written mention of the monastery is from 1214, but the post office in Leles was probably founded during the reign of Bel III. and was founded around 1188 by the Bishop of Vacov, Boleslav. The foundation location was not chosen at random, the advantageous location only accelerated the development of the convention as well as the settlement. Leles was a point of contact and a place where spirituality was paramount, but it was also the center of law.
The end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century were marked by conflicts and disputes. Among the sons of Bela III. Imrich and Ondrej broke out rifts over succession. In 1199, Imrich had the entire building of the Premonstratensian monastery demolished and confiscated the property of the order. The dispute between the brothers finally ended with the arrival of Andrew II. to the Hungarian throne. Andrew II accompanied by his wife Gertrude Meran. Andrew II after ascending the throne, he restored the monastery and strengthened its property with a charter. The mentioned document issued in 1214 by Andrew II. is considered to be one of the most important documents concerning the municipality of Leles.
The original building and the whole village were badly damaged during the Tartar invasion in 1241. The Romanesque monastery was damaged, they had to build a new Gothic church. The church was established in the years 1315-1366 together with the eastern wing of the monastery, in which a Gothic chapel has been preserved. From the end of the 13th century, the monastery became a credible place. His task was to provide documents from all over the region - medieval notarialism, which lasted until 1567. At the same time, students in writing schools learned to design various official documents.
In 1405, a hospital and a poorhouse are documented near the monastery. The Hussites were the monastery looted in 1442. In 1453, the postman Martin, together with Ján Hunyady, went to fight the Turks and took with him part of the archive of a credible place, which was, of course, destroyed during the fighting. Since in the times of the so-called of the second feudal anarchy, the monastery sided with Ján Zápoľský, was r. 1527 looted and looted by Austrian mercenaries Ferdinand of Habsburg. In 1533, the Lele monastery was heavily fortified, when defensive walls and moats were built here. The mayor Gašpar Seréda himself protested against the king, as he feared that the fortified convent would serve as a refuge for the followers of Ján Zápoľský. He knew well, because the second-born son of Petr Perényi, who ruled Medzibodrožie - Gabriel, seized the Leles monastery himself after the death of his father (in 1557) and was expelled from there only by Imrich Telekessy in 1559. The fortifications did not serve anti-Turkish defense at all, because the Turks came closest to the territory of Zemplín temporarily only after Szerencs, further their expansion did not reach. The last Premonstratensian monks left the monastery in 1567.
In the period 1567 - 1697, the monastery was in the hands of commanders - secular landowners. During the time of the commanders, the monastery was rebuilt; corner towers were added, the whole building was raised by one floor, and a church clock tower was also added (the tower was built in 1623 - 1639), today serving as a bell tower.
The Premonstratensian monks returned in 1697 and subsequently the whole complex was baroqued. For the second time, the Premonstratensian monks left the monastery in 1787, when the decree of Joseph II. abolished all orders that did not participate in any way in the pedagogical or other education of the population. In 1802, however, the Premonstratensian Order returned for the second time, this time from Bohemia, and a new cult of Ján Nepomucký came to Leles with them.
This year, the monastery began to fulfill its function again, including the place of verification, when Emperor Francis II. resumed the activities of the Premonstratensian Order in Hungary. The Premonstratensian monks had to suspend their activities during the socialist period until 1989. Since 1989, the Premonstratensian monks have been performing their spiritual activities to this day. At that time, priests and monks also served their lives here. This is how it works until 1945 - 1950, when the state communist power, as part of the "K" action, which Mr. Jan Chryzostom called Cardinal Korec, forcibly abolished and left there a secondary vocational school of agriculture. At that time, the rare chapel became a landfill for artificial fertilizers and on one side of the chapel were made sanitary facilities, which resulted in shabby plaster, devastated surroundings and leaking walls.
After 1989 - 1990, the monastery in Leles became part of the monastery in Jasov. In 1994, the monastery was handed over to the Premonstratensian order. Chapel of St. Michal also had the Jasovský Abbot Tomáš reconstructed with valuable paintings in the 1990s.
There are no myths available.
At the time of our visit, both entrance gates were closed. Please inquire in advance.Opening hours and admission