A History of Central Eastern Europe

herbalist fame, took a fancy to the
idea of flight and is said to have even
made and flown, or attempted to,
around the monastery! All around the
monastery as well as in the gardens
near the cottages, the monks grew
crops, root plants, and medicinal
herbs. The local economy was tied to
that of the monastery so intricately
that, after the Hussite raids, the
privileges granted to SPIŠSKÁ STARÁ
VES in 1399 were revoked. Some
privileges were restored in 1655 after
LÁSZLÓ RÁKÓCZI (1633 – 1664), ISPÁN
of SÁROS megye, and a large landholder in the area, appealed to the EMPEROR
FERDINAND III HAPSBURG (1608 – 1657) who granted the right to hold weekly markets
and annual fairs.
In 1673 The Hungarian Constitution was suspended by EMPEROR LEOPOLD I
HAPSBURG (1640 – 1705) which precipitated the kuruc, a period of anti‐HABSBURG revolts
from 1671 to 1711. In 1678 those of IMRE THÖKÖLY (1657 ‐1705) began in MUNKÁCS,
TRANSYLVANIA and spread west into SLOVAKIA. By 1685 he had full control of all of
present‐day SLOVAKIA excepting a sliver at the extreme western edge of the country.
Following military and diplomatic reversals he was forced into exile in 1699. In 1703 a
major revolt was lead by THÖKÖLY’S stepson FERENC II RÁKÓCZI (1676 – 1735) who had
become ISPÁN of SÁROS megye in 1694. That revolt followed the same course, beginning
at his stronghold in MUNKÁCS and spreading west. Similarly, he controlled almost the
whole of SLOVAKIA, suffered reversals and led to his self‐imposed exile in 1711.
The 18 th c was a time of horrors for SPIŠSKÁ STARÁ VES, which says a lot
considering the battles fought back and forth through the village for the last 3 decades
of the 17 th c! In 1710, probably in consequence of the final battles of the kuruc being
fought, an outbreak of bubonic plague decimated the village. The village, still
recovering from the plague, was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1712.
In 1771 as AUSTRIA takes over the SPIŠ region, EMPEROR JOSEPH II HAPSBURG,
finding no purpose for the Benedictine order to exist, dissolves it in 1782 and the
ČERVENÝ KLÁŠTOR is, once again, abandoned. It is not clear when a 2 nd house of worship,
the KOSTOL SV ANTONA PUSTOVNÍKA, was built on the grounds. In 1818 the Greek
Catholic Eparchy of PREŠOV was formed from the Ruthenian Catholic Church Eparchy of
MUNKÁCS in 1818. Two years later the empty monastery was donated to the Eparchy and
the neighboring village of ČERVENÝ KLÁŠTOR (with a lower‐case ‘k’ and officially
LECHNICA) was repopulated. They took advantage of a nearby sulfur spring and
developed the modest Smerdzonka spa which remains open as the Červený Kláštor Spa.
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