Martinsberg

approx. Pannonhalma (formerly Szentmárton, Győrszentmárton)

Latin: Mons Sacer Pannoniae, monasterium, castrum Sancti Martini de Pannonia; Slovak: Rábsky Svätý Martin

The town’s Latin name derives from the Benedictine abbey founded at the end of the 10th century, whilst the German name Martinsberg refers to St Martin of Tours, the patron saint of the monastery. The modern Hungarian name, Pannonhalma (Mountain/Hill of Pannonia), was coined by the Benedictine monk Izidor Guzmics during the Hungarian language reform (1824).

Martinsberg is situated at^47° 32' north latitude and^17° 44' east longitude, 20 km south-southeast of Raab/Győr and 132 km west of Budapest.

A village in north-western Hungary, in the Sokoró Hills (Sokorói-dombság).

Northern Transdanubia (Észak-Dunántúl)

Hungary; Raab-Wieselburg-Ödenburg County (Győr-Moson-Sopron Megye). Seat of the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma (Pannonhalmi Bencés Főapátság).

Since 1995, the official town coat of arms has been a divided triangular shield, the upper blue field of which depicts St Martin seated on a horse, holding a sword in his right hand and a cloak in his left. A kneeling beggar can be seen in front of the figure. In the lower green field, a golden vine is depicted on the right, an open book on the left, and, in the centre, the building of Martinsberg Abbey on a green hill.

Roman, Avar and Hun relics have been found in the area.

In honour of St Martin of Tours, who is said to have been born in 334 in the Roman provincial town of Savaria/Sabaria (now Steinamanger/Szombathely), some 120 km away, Grand Prince Géza (972–997) founded the Benedictine abbey in 996 with monks from Bavaria. The construction of the abbey was completed by King Stephen I (997/1000–1038), who granted it privileges and placed it directly under the authority of the Holy See. The double-choir design of the first church reveals architectural influences from the Holy Roman Empire. The Benedictine Abbey of Martinsberg was the most important in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary and enjoyed the privileges of the Abbey of Montecassino. One of its most distinguished abbots, Uros (1207–1243), carried out large-scale building and fortification works, thanks to which the settlement withstood the Tatars’ attack (1242). The village, situated near the abbey, was destroyed during the Mongol invasion and only began to develop again in the course of its reconstruction in the 14th century. By 1338, the village had its own parish and was elevated to the status of a minor town (Latin: oppidum) in the mid-15th century.

As part of a reform carried out by Abbot Máté Tolnai (1500–1535), Martinsberg was elevated to the status of a principal abbey and henceforth formed the centre of the congregation, which comprised several monastic houses. From 1540 onwards, the fortified monastery served as an outer bailey for Raab and was an important part of the Hungarian border defence system. During the Ottoman occupation, the settlement was destroyed and the monks were forced to flee on several occasions. At the end of the 17th century, the mother abbey resettled the village. At that time, in addition to Hungarians, numerous Germans from Bavaria and Lower Austria, as well as Czechs from Moravia, came to Martinsberg, which, as a result of sustained economic and population growth, was once again elevated to the status of a minor town. Fleeing the Napoleonic troops, the Bishop of Raab moved his seat to Martinsberg for a short time in 1809.

Until 1965, the town was officially known as Győrszentmárton, after which it was renamed Pannonhalma. In 1970, it became a large municipality, and in 2000 it was granted town status. Following the fall of communism (1990), Martinsberg was once again granted a diocese; the area is now led by an abbot-prior who has been consecrated as a bishop. In the summer of 2011, the urn containing the heart of Otto von Habsburg was interred at Pannonhalma Abbey.

Local Authority of the Town of Martinsberg (Pannonhalma Város Önkormányzata).

In 1785, the settlement had a population of 2,605; in 1857, the figure was 3,109; in 1880, 2,986 (of whom 2 per cent were German); in 1941 the figure was 3,125 (of whom 0.3 per cent were German) and in 1980 4,096 (of whom 0.1 per cent were German). In 2001, Martinsberg had 3,907 inhabitants; in terms of ethnic composition, 90.2 per cent were Hungarians, 0.7 per cent Germans, 0.6 per cent Sinti and Roma, and 0.1 per cent each Slovaks and Romanians. In 2010, the population stood at 3,917.^[1]

The steadily growing tourism industry is the town’s most important economic sector. The abbey runs a publishing house (Benediktiner-Verlag [Bencés Kiadó]); the products, made according to the abbey’s own recipes, are becoming increasingly popular.

Religious affiliation of residents (2001): Roman Catholic: 80 per cent, Swiss Reformed: 2.2 per cent, Evangelical: 0.8 per cent, Greek Catholic: 0.4 per cent, other: 1.6 per cent. 1.8 per cent do not belong to any denomination or church, whilst the religious affiliation of 13.4 per cent of residents is unknown.

The Arcus Temporum Pannonhalma Arts Festival (Arcus Temporum Pannonhalmi Művészeti Fesztivál) has been held since 2003, and classical music concerts are also held regularly in the abbey church.

Martinsberg Abbey and its surroundings have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011. The Pannonhalma Landscape Conservation Area was established in 1992.

• Gáspár Csóka, Kornél Szovák, Imre Takács: The Archabbey of Pannonhalma. Pannonhalma 1998.
• László Erdélyi: The History of the Order of Saint Benedict at Pannonhalma. Volumes I–XII [History of the Benedictine Order at Martinsberg. 12 vols.]. Budapest 1902–1912.
• József Hapák, Szilveszter Sólymos: Pannonhalma. Budapest 2008 (German edition).
• István Mészáros: The School on St Martin’s Hill. The History of the Pannonhalma Benedictine Grammar School. Pannonhalma 1990.
• József Pál, Ádám Somorjai: Mille anni di storia dell’Arciabbazia di Pannonhalma [The Thousand-Year History of the Archabbey of Martinsberg]. Rome, Pannonhalma 1997.
• Imre Takács: The Renovation of the Abbey Church of Pannonhalma in the 13th Century. In: Acta Historiae Artium 38 (1996), pp. 31–65.
• Imre Takács (ed.): *Mons sacer, 996–1996. Pannonhalma 1000 éve, I–III.* [*Mons sacer 996–1996. A Thousand Years of Martinsberg. 3 vols.]. Pannonhalma 1996.

• Pannonhalmi Szemle [Martinsberg Review]

• pannonhalma.hu/(the town’s official website)
• www.phbences.hu/ (Martinsberg Benedictine Grammar School)
• www.arcustemporum.hu/ (Martinsberg Arts Festival)
• collections.osb.hu/ (Collections of the Archabbey)

[1] Historical and Statistical Gazetteer of Hungary. Vol. 19: Győr-Moson-Sopron County [Historical and Statistical Gazetteer of Hungary. Vol. 19: Raab-Ödenburg-Wieselburg County]. Ed. József Kovacsics. Budapest 2002, p. 181; Zsuzsanna Józsa (ed.): Gazetteer of the Republic of Hungary 2003. Budapest 2003, p. 746; A Magyar Köztársaság helységnévkönyve 1 January 2010. Gazetteer of the Republic of Hungary¹ January 2010. Budapest 2010, p. 26.

Tamás Fedeles: Martinsberg/Pannonhalma. In: Online Encyclopaedia on the Culture and History of Germans in Eastern Europe, 2012. URL: ome-lexikon.uni-oldenburg.de/54328.html (as at 20 July 2021).