Church & monasteryFilmed hereEastern Slovakia & Spiš

Červený Kláštor: a hermit monastery where the Dunajec cuts through the Pieniny

Červený Kláštor (the Red Monastery) stands where the Lipník stream meets the Dunajec in the Pieniny National Park, in the village of the same name in the Kežmarok district, right by the Polish border. Founded in the early 14th century by Carthusians and later home to Camaldolese hermits, the Gothic and Baroque complex is a national cultural monument and today a museum. A fine stop among the hidden gems of northern Slovakia.

Silent hermits once lived here in separate little houses with gardens, and one of them, the pharmacist and herbalist Brother Cyprian, is said to have flown down from a peak on a glider he built himself.

WhereČervený Kláštor, Pieniny National Park, Kežmarok district, northern Slovakia

TypeFormer Carthusian and Camaldolese monastery with a Gothic church; today a museum

Best forHistory and architecture lovers, hikers in the Pieniny, and anyone curious about monastic life and herbal medicine

Getting thereIn the village of Červený Kláštor on the Slovak–Polish border, about 25 km north-west of Stará Ľubovňa

The history of Červený Kláštor

The monastery grew out of an act of penance. An old legend says that a nobleman named Kokos, of the Berzevicze family, killed a provost and had to found six monasteries as punishment, though only two were completed: one on the Rock of Refuge above Letanovce and one in the valley of St Anthony near Lechnica. The foundation was confirmed by the Spiš chapter in 1319, and in 1320 King Charles I Robert of Anjou gave his consent. Building began around 1330 on an old trade road between Hungary and Poland, close to a ford over the Dunajec. The complex was officially called Lechnica Monastery, while the popular name Red Monastery comes from its red roofs and the brick details of its cornices and vaults.

Under the Carthusians, who stayed until the 1560s, the monastery became rich and learned. The monks held brewing, milling and fishing rights, and each lived in a small house with a garden around a cloister, keeping silence and a strict diet. The small Gothic church was begun about 1360. Magnificent manuscripts were produced here, and two illuminated codices survive, one in the Jagiellonian Library in Kraków and one in Budapest. The monks also studied astronomy, medicine and alchemy. Hussite troops plundered the monastery in 1431 and again in 1433, and in 1545 knights from Niedzica Castle attacked it. The monks fled across the river into Poland, and the monastery was abolished in 1563.

Secular owners followed, among them Stephen Thököly and, from 1626, the Rákóczi family, and Paul Rákóczi had the decaying buildings repaired and walled. In 1699 Bishop Ladislav Maťašovský of Nitra bought the monastery and left it to the Camaldolese, who moved in in 1711. They rebuilt it in the Baroque style, calling it the Monastery of the Hermits of the Three Crowns, and set up ten hermitages, a brewery and an inn. The church kept its Gothic exterior but gained a Baroque interior in 1747, with painted plant motifs, and a tower was added in 1750. In 1754 the monks opened a pharmacy, which became famous under Brother Cyprian, who published his herbarium in 1766. A school of theology for young monks also worked here from 1754 to 1772.

In 1782 Emperor Joseph II abolished contemplative orders, and the monks had to leave. The library went to Budapest and the church furnishings to Muszyna in Poland. In 1820 Francis I gave the monastery to the Greek-Catholic diocese of Prešov, but it kept decaying, and a fire in 1907 did great damage. After 1918 enthusiasts from the Prešov branch of the Slovak hikers' club repaired parts of it. A thorough reconstruction began in 1956 and ended in 1966, when the first museum exhibition opened. The complex was declared a national cultural monument in 1970. An enlarged museum reopened in 1993, and since 2008 the Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic has run it.

Curiosities about Červený Kláštor

According to the old legend, the monastery exists because of a crime: a nobleman named Kokos killed a provost and was told to found six monasteries as atonement, but only two were built.
Brother Cyprian, whose lay name is given as Franz Ignatz Jäschke, is known as the Flying Monk. Legend says he flew from the summit of the Three Crowns to the monastery courtyard on a glider he made himself.
Cyprian's herbarium of 1766 describes 272 plant species of the Pieniny and the Tatras in four languages, and his herbarium survives in a museum in Tatranská Lomnica.
The refectory has a late Gothic net vault from the second half of the 15th century, and its walls were painted after 1520 with ornaments and scenes from the Passion of Christ.
The monk Romuald Hadbavný, who worked here as steward and archivist, is credited with a Latin–Slovak dictionary and with the old Slovak Camaldolese Bible.
The Red Monastery has gone by several names: Lechnica Monastery in the Middle Ages, and the Monastery of the Hermits of the Three Crowns under the Camaldolese.

Filmed here

Film shot at Červený Kláštor

The quiet setting of the monastery has served as a film location for the story of its most famous monk.

Legenda o Lietajúcom Cypriánovi (2009) – A Slovak–Polish historical feature film about the Flying Monk, directed by Mariana Čengel Solčanská, was shot at the monastery.

Tours near Červený Kláštor

Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:

Private Hiking Tour Visit to Slovakia with Licensed Guide

★ 5 (75 reviews) · 6 h

See details ›

Day Hike with a Local Mountain Guide in High Tatras

★ 5 (6 reviews) · 8 h

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Enchanting Levoča: Love Amidst Historic Grandeur

2 h

See details ›

Echoes of History: Levoča Legendary Stroll

2 h

See details ›

Visiting Červený Kláštor

The main buildings are the Gothic single-nave Church of St Anthony the Hermit with side chapels, the monastery building with its cloister, the so-called clock tower and the farm buildings, once surrounded by a wall with battlements.
The museum shows the history of the monastery, monastic life, and the botany and pharmacy of the monks, along with works of art from the monastery and the wider northern Spiš region. The church is part of the exhibition.
The refectory with its net vault and wall paintings is one of the finest interiors in the complex.
The monastery sits where the Dunajec breaks through the limestone cliffs of the Pieniny, and the rafting trips on the river end close by, so it combines well with a day of walking or boating.
Check the current opening hours before you go.

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.

Map: where Červený Kláštor is

Photos of Červený Kláštor

Questions

Where is Červený Kláštor and how do you get there?

Červený Kláštor is in the village of the same name in the Pieniny National Park, in the Kežmarok district, on the Dunajec and the Polish border. It lies about 25 km north-west of Stará Ľubovňa.

Why is it called the Red Monastery?

The name is usually traced to the red roofs of the complex. The brick details of the cornices and vaults are also given as a reason.

Who was Brother Cyprian, the Flying Monk?

Cyprian was a Camaldolese monk who ran the monastery pharmacy and wrote a herbarium describing hundreds of plants. A legend says he glided from the Three Crowns peak on a machine he built.

Which monks lived at Červený Kláštor?

Carthusians lived here from the early 14th century until the 1560s, and Camaldolese hermits from 1711 until the monastery was dissolved in 1782. Both orders were among the strictest hermit orders.

What can you see at Červený Kláštor today?

A museum in the monastery shows monastic life, botany and pharmacy, and the restored Gothic Church of St Anthony the Hermit is part of the visit. The refectory has late Gothic vaults and wall paintings.

How old is Červený Kláštor?

The foundation was confirmed in 1319 and royal consent given in 1320, with building starting around 1330. The Gothic church was begun about 1360.