Kláštorisko – Carthusian Monastery Ruins

The “Rock of Refuge” in the heart of the Slovak Paradise

Kláštorisko is a broad plateau at 760 m on the ridge between Čertova sihoť and the Glac plateau, one of the main tourist hubs in the north of Slovak Paradise National Park. It is surrounded by canyons, gorges, caves and springs, and in the middle of a meadow stand the ruins of a Gothic monastery of the Carthusians – monks who lived in silence.

People used the plateau as a refuge as early as the late Bronze and early Iron Ages. During the Mongol invasion of 1241 the Spiš Germans (the “Spiš Saxons”) surrounded it with a wall up to a kilometre long and sheltered here with their families. Documents later called the place the “Rock of Refuge” (Lapis refugii) or the “Watch Hill”. The charter by which Jacob, Provost of Spiš, granted the land to the Carthusians is dated 12 December 1299. The first monks came from Žiče (in today’s Slovenia) and supervised the construction in 1305–1307; the monastery became the order’s first house in the Kingdom of Hungary. In the 15th century it was ravaged by the Hussites, and in 1543 it was looted by the robber knight Matej Bašo of Muráň Castle. The monks moved to Lechnica – today’s Červený Kláštor in the Pieniny – and on the order of the General Chapter the monastery was abandoned and demolished so that it could not become a fortress.

Archaeological and rescue work began in the 1980s, and since 1983 the ruins have been open to visitors again. Today the Kláštorisko civic association restores the site with volunteers from all over Europe.

What to see

• The ruined single-nave Church of St John the Baptist and St Margaret with a polygonal presbytery and sacristy.
• Remains of monks’ cells, cloisters, the guest house and workshops; some walls and a small house have already been rebuilt.
• St Bruno’s spring and a sundial.
• Views of the High Tatras from the edge of the plateau, especially beautiful at sunset.
• In late August – the church festival (indulgence feast) with cultural and scholarly events.

Practical information

Kláštorisko is a walking destination: only marked trails lead there. The shortest loop from Podlesok is 10.5 km and takes about 3 hours; from Letanovce there and back is 9.6 km, about 2 hours 40 minutes. It is more spectacular to climb through the Suchá Belá or Kláštorská roklina gorges – remember that gorges may only be walked upwards, against the stream, and that a park fee (€3–4) is charged for the ladders and steps. From Čingov via the Tomášovský výhľad viewpoint the loop is 12.2 km (about 4.5 hours). Parking costs €6 per day at Podlesok and €5 at Čingov. The plateau has a tourist centre, and bikes can be hired for the ride down to Podlesok (€7.50).

Routes through the gorges are not suitable for dogs – they cannot climb the ladders. Camping in the park is allowed only at campsites.

Nearby

The Hornád flows below the plateau: the path through the Hornád Gorge meets the Kláštorská roklina near the Letanovský mlyn mill, where the only stone bridge over the Hornád in the Slovak Paradise stands – the 15th-century Carthusian Bridge, blown up in the Second World War and rebuilt in 1995. To the east lies Spiš Castle.

Official website: klastorisko.eu

Photos: Ladabohac, CC0, Wikimedia Commons; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Draceane, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.