Červený Kláštor Pieniny

Červený Kláštor, Slovakia, Slovakia

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Červený Kláštor in the Pieniny Mountains of Slovakia, known as the Red Monastery, was founded in 1319 by master Kokoš of Brezovica as a Carthusian monastery in the village of Lechnica, named for its distinctive red brick buildings and roof. The monks, seeking solitude for meditation and manuscript copying, enjoyed privileges like fishing and milling rights but faced raids, including attacks in 1431, 1543, and 1545, leading to its decline and abolition in 1563 by King Ferdinand I. Revived in 1711 by Camaldolese monks under Nitra Bishop Maťašovský, they rebuilt it in Baroque style with a belfry, church renovations, a pharmacy famous under monk Cyprián, and pursuits in beekeeping and herbal medicine until Emperor Joseph II dissolved it in 1782. Restored in the 1950s-60s, it now stands as a Gothic core with Baroque elements, housing a museum on monastic history amid scenic Dunajec River rafts and hiking trails.