Esterházy, Rákóczi and the monks, the relation of sound and silence
Functions in the Majk Hermitage
MúzeumCafé 51.
Monks occupied the monastery today called the Camaldolese Hermitage – Majk for less than 50 years. Yet the 18th-century Baroque ensemble of listed buildings, comprising 17 cell-houses, convent building of the hermitage and ruined church tower is considered a curiosity all over Europe. The first part of the ensemble, which was renovated with an 885 million forint EU subsidy, opened in September 2015. The fund covered the renewal of the severely damaged ‘foresteria’, the U-shaped main building and the ceremonial courtyard, where a conference hall, new exhibition space and café were housed. The next phase, involving 1.5 billion forints, will cover the restoration of cell-houses, cell-gardens, the church tower and the surrounding 7.2-hecatre green area. The CamaldoleseHemitage in Majk was founded in 1733 by Count JózsefEsterházy and construction lasted until the 1770s. The hermitage was never completely built, since the order was dissolved by Emperor Joseph II. In 1782 the library was dispersed, the assets were auctioned, the church was deconsecrated and in 1795 the buildings were advertised for sale. The estate was first bought in 1806 by Count Károly of the Zólyom branch of the Esterházy family. Later it had several owners. The church consecrated to Saint John of Nepomuk was destroyed when it was struck by lightning in the summer of 1810. Then the estate was rented. In the first half of the 19th century the largest cloth factory of the region operated in the former convent building, workers moved into the cell-houses, while one of those functioned as a school. In the 1860s MóricEsterházy converted the convent building into a hunting lodge and a residential mansion. This period ended with World War II. The eastern side wing of the convent building burnt down and the joining section of the main wing, a part of the family archives, several rare books and valuable pieces of furniture were also destroyed by fire. The ensemble was put to use after the war. First it functioned as a field hospital, then war criminals were accommodated here. The Circle of Hungarian Writers rented it and it also housed construction workers. It served as a secondary school and halls of residence, as well as a pioneers’ camp. The continuously deteriorating hermitage became a nationally protected tourist sight from the end of the 1980s after it had nearly fallen victim to the Oroszlány Mining Co. and the Eocene Project. After the 1989-90 changes Majkpuszta developed further: the cell-houses were renovated and furnished in the 1990s. In 2001the National Trust for Monuments took over its operation, yet its legal successor, the Forster Centre, has managed its renovation since 2012.