Once a magnificent and extensive seat of the Pavlin monks, with a spa, a garden, a school, a hospital, extensive land and a lively farm. Today, only the ruins of a national cultural monument have been covered with greenery and devastated by man. The monument is in a desolate state, the building material was largely stolen.Preserved are three wings of monastery buildings around the paradise court and a short wing extending north. Only the presbytery has been preserved from the church that closed the courtyard on the west side.

Mariánska Čeľaď (Máriacsalád) is a small wasteland belonging to Veľké Lovciam in the Novozámok district. The place was inhabited as early as the Bronze Age. The site in the area dates from that time.

Mariánska Čeľaď (Máriacsalád) is first mentioned in 1210, when a chapel stood here. However, as early as 1075, a record comes from a document of King Gejz I that a settlement stood in these places. The year of the foundation of the monastery in Mariánská Čeľad is not exactly known. In 1512, Sigismund of Levice and his father-in-law František Haraszty donated land to the Paulines in Lóta, Beleg and Hronská Mikula. The foundation of the monastery was confirmed by King Louis II. in 1517. The document contains Mariánska Čeľaď under the name Zala (t). The adjective Mariánska “comes from a later origin and comes from the time when the church and the monastery were already dedicated to the honor of the Virgin Mary. The Paulines lived in this monastery for about 268 years. They were best in the 15th and partly in the 16th century. They gained various privileges, the rulers forgave their taxes, they received pensions from the royal estates. Later, they owned and managed about four thousand hectares of land. They also had their own coat of arms. A settlement called Belek (now part of Podhájská) grew up near the monastery, where people who worked in the monastery lived. During the danger, the monastery served as a protection for the people and in times of peace as a shrine. Other sources say that the area, including the settlement, which is now extinct, was surrounded by dense forests full of bandits. People in the stories mention Klokoč in particular. The moat in which his gang allegedly lived is still called Klokočov.

Other legends say that the locals did not like these white monks, as they called the pavilions for their religious hooded clothing. They were mostly sons of nobility, and so they allegedly behaved. It was said that many young women disappeared in the monastery, that they had been raped, and that the superior of the order allegedly enforced the right of the first night. The second version of the missing girls says that it was the work of the mentioned robbers, who were to change into monk habits so that the suspicion would fall on the pavilions. The first version is probably more likely. The monastery was a center of culture and education for the area.

Pavlín experienced bad times in the 16th century after the invasion of the Turks, who occupied the monastery for several years. Later, the monastery was devastated by Rákóczi's troops. The monks moved to Lefantovice. However, the property was abandoned and so they leased it. It was not until 1711 that the monks returned. From 1749, they began to rebuild the monastery, in the Baroque style with magnificent decoration. It included a large two-tower church, a thermal bath and a botanical garden with thermophilic plants. It was a famous pilgrimage site. The foundation stone was laid in the wall of the church on 12 August 1749 by Bishop Mons. Pavol Forgáč from Jelenec. However, it was not consecrated until 1778. The importance of the Mariánska Čeľaď monastery is also proved by the organization of the Pavlín chapters. (The chapter is an assembly of superiors of all monasteries of the order.) The last provincial chapter of the Pauline order in Hungary was held in Mariánská Čeľad on May 29, 1785. It decided on controversial issues of the obligation to wear a chin and a beard. They also discussed a uniform religious suit, as young religious neglected these ancient regulations. At the last chapter, a strict order was issued to keep the beards and chin on and for the members of the order to wear a uniform.

The decree of Emperor Joseph II, which abolished the order of pavilions in Hungary on February 7, 1786, dealt a fatal blow to the successful development of the monastery. The monastery in Máriacsalád then had a library with 1184 volumes, the value of which was estimated at 398 gold according to the currency of the time. After the abolition of the Pauline order, the archives of the monastery were buried in the so-called Klokočov spring (in the forest towards the village). It was found there in the 19th century and stored in archives in Vienna. The main altar of the church was transported to Čaka, the bells to Tešedíkov. The Paulines never returned to the monastery. Legend has it that they escaped through underground passages, but the truth is that they could stay for a few more months and then be employed as teachers in various schools or receive a retirement pension from the state. At the time of the abolition of the order, there were only 7 of them in the monastery. Two of them became priests in the newly built church in Lot, today's Veľké Lovce.

The monastery buildings then served various purposes. For example, in 1809 the monastery complex served as a field infirmary. In 1863, the monastery accidentally burned down after a lightning strike and was never restored to its original glory. The entrance to the church was covered only by a board after the fire. There was a grain warehouse and a tobacco dryer. They built the current two churches in Veľké Lovce from the bricks of the monastery. The two-tower church was similar to that in Marianka. During World War II, it was damaged so that it completely disappeared. The locals used the material to repair their war-torn homes. After 1948, the monastery complex was managed by state forests, followed by state property. There were offices, apartments, a shop, a dining room, a kitchen, but also an elementary school, as there was an apartment building and houses in the area. He used the state property of the main and ancillary buildings in a rather unscrupulous way. Parts of the monastery were devastated when they used it as a grain warehouse, as a sheepfold and as a single class for the 1st-4th grade. In the dining room, they cut a ceiling with frescoes to fit a machine for grinding rye for cattle. Some spaces were used as offices and others to house cattle. According to local memories, the thermal spring certainly flowed out in the area of the monastery around 1960. The spring dried up most probably in connection with the construction of a thermal swimming pool in nearby Podhájská. Rare frescoes allegedly by the Austrian painter J. V. Bergl, who guard everywhere else like an eye in the head, washed away the rain under the torn ceilings. They were replaced by red splatters from paintballers. The unit was abolished in 1967, which became an incentive to move out for families with compulsory school children, and the animal production where these people worked was gradually liquidated. In 1973, the last inhabitant of the monastery left.

In 1970, the monastery was declared a historical monument. Its administration was taken over by monuments and the building served as a depository of the District Museum in Nové Zámky. In 1972, funds were raised and the roof - lumber and roofing - were completely replaced to prevent damage to the masonry. The building was closed, there was a permanent guard service. In the years 1972-1977, the "Festival of Youth Clubs" was held every year in the summer months in the Marian family. They used to be three-day events dedicated to youth sports and culture. schools in nature, in the summer it was to be used for children's camps as well as a recreation center for adults.

However, the end of 1989 came, which brought a change in the political system. The monastery building and agricultural land were returned to the original owner - the church - as part of restitution. From 1991 to 1997, meetings of Christian youth (see the inscription on the side of the cross) were held every year during the summer holidays in the premises of Mariánská Čeľad, who tried to save at least the monastery building, which has been preserved. Unfortunately, many people come here only to destroy what was not destroyed by time. The rococo grilles on the lower windows were even even forcibly pulled out by a tractor. Back in 2005, there was a roof torso. In 2007, it was written that the Trnava Archbishopric was planning to renovate the building. It also allegedly obtained original photos of destroyed frescoes. But you can see the result for yourself. In 23 years, it has become a ruin. The church has at least restored the statue of the Virgin Mary, which people saved decades ago from the church facade. Today, the statue stands in the courtyard of the church in Veľké Lovce. He will probably never return to his original place. In front of the parish church in Veľké Lovce, there are also marble columns to support the choir from the former church in Mariánská Čeľad.

Under the monastery, a rich network of escape corridors has been preserved, which were used during the wars with the Turks. To date, it has not been properly mapped and thorough archaeological research has not been carried out there. Some of them were examined by people from the area. However, due to heavy air, they returned after a kilometer. According to old legends, the monastery is connected by an underground corridor with the monastery in Hronský Beňadik and with the town of Nové Zámky. The corridors were reportedly up to four meters wide, so a horse-drawn carriage could fit comfortably into them.

White monks

The local white monks, as they called the pavilions for their hooded monk clothing, were said to dislike them. They were mostly aristocratic sons, second- and third-born sisters who went to church dignitaries or religious orders.

And so they allegedly behaved. It was said that many young women disappeared in the monastery, that they had been raped, and that the superior of the order allegedly enforced the right of the first night. The women were to get lost in the intricate cellars built by the pavilions. Several kilometers of corridors led to the surrounding villages. They were about four meters wide, so the carriage could fit there. The monks were friendly with the various aristocratic families in the area because of their natural background and mission, which were prayers and enthusiasm for the service of their neighbors. It was through these underground corridors that they visited. Perhaps also for safety reasons, because the area and the settlement, now extinct, were surrounded by dense forests full of bandits. People in the stories mention Klokoč in particular.

The moat in which his gang allegedly lived is still called Klokočov.

And the second version of the missing girls says that it was the work of these robbers who were to disguise themselves in the monks' habits so that the suspicion would fall on the pavilions. Only underground escape corridors can be proven, preserved to this day, although unexplored.

The monastery ruins are open to the public, but be very careful as they are in a desolate state

https://www.hrady-zamky.sk/marianska-celad/