The Kolozsmonostor Abbey was a Benedictine Christian monastery at Kolozsmonostor in Transylvania in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary (now MănășturinCluj-Napoca in Romania). According to modern scholars' consensus, the monastery was established by Ladislaus I of Hungary before 1095.
 | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Abbey of Cluj-Mănăștur |
| Order | Benedictine |
| Established | 1080s-1090s |
| Diocese | Transylvania |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Ladislaus I of Hungary |
| Site | |
| Location | Mănăștur, Cluj-Napoca, Romania |
| Coordinates | 46°45′41″N 23°33′29″E / 46.76129°N 23.55794°E / 46.76129; 23.55794 |
The Kolozsvár Abbey was the first Benedictine monastery in Transylvania,[1] but medieval documents contain contradictory information about its foundation.[2] According to a royal charter issued in 1341, Ladislaus I of Hungary established it.[2] However, a late 14th-century forged version of a 1263 charter stated that Béla I of Hungary had set up the abbey, while an excerpt made around 1430 from the same charter named Stephen I of Hungary as its founder.[2] The two latters document also recorded that Ladislaus I of Hungary had made a large grant to the monastery.[2] Historian György Györffy says, both Stephen I and Béla I were most probably copied from the list of the benefactors of the bishopric of Eger in a 1261 charter, although the reference to Béla I may have preserved a genuine tradition.[2] Historians István Bóna, Elek Benkő and István Keul agree that the monastery was established by Ladislaus I before 1095.[3][4][5]
The monastery was dedicated to the Virgin Mary.[1]
The abbey developed into an important place of authentication.[5][6]