Belapatfalva Abbey

The Cistercians founded an abbey at the foot of the Bell rock in the Bukk in 1232, and the church they built is the one that still stands: a three-aisled Romanesque basilica with a plain west front, a rose window and the severity the order preferred, altered later but never rebuilt out of recognition, which makes it among the best preserved Romanesque monastic churches in Hungary. The monastery buildings around it are gone to foundations, excavated and outlined on the ground beside a small lake. It sits apart from the village against wooded slopes, and the setting does much of the work: a plain pale church in a field of grass with the Bukk rising directly behind it.

What you actually see

• A largely unaltered Romanesque church - the 1232 abbey as built.
• The rose window and west front - Cistercian plainness in stone.
• Excavated monastery foundations - the cloister outlined beside the church.
• The Bukk slopes behind - the setting the abbey was placed in.

When to go

April to October. One hour. Opening is seasonal and limited outside summer. Services take precedence. The setting is best in morning light.

Honest expectations

The interior is bare and the visit is short. Hours are restricted and the church is often locked out of season. There is little else at the site beyond foundations and a lake.

Nearby

Eger is south; the Bukk plateau rises behind.