Bzovík
Title
Bzovík
Also Known As
Bosock, Bosouch, Bozok, Bozook, Bozouk, Bozók, Bzowík, Kis Bozok, Posvik
Dates
Founded ca. 1130; Premonstratensian from ca. 1170s; dissolved 1530
Dedication
Stephen of Hungary
Medieval Diocese
Circary
History
The priory of Bzovík was founded 1124-31 by Lampert II of the Hont-Pázmány kindred, his second wife Žofia, and their son Mikuláš, as a Cistercian community. Between 1171-80 it became a Premonstratensian community, settled with brothers originally from Riéval.
The priory frequently engaged in disputes with the nearby town of Krupina over property rights, which occasionally flared into violence in the 14th and 15th centuries. Bzovík was also the subject of a Hussite attack, which lead to the monastery being burned down in 1471.
The priory was ultimately destroyed in 1530 following an attack by Žigmund Balaša (Zsigmond Balassa), a powerful local lord and Protestant sympathiser. Balaša rebuilt the monastery into a fortress to defend against a feared attack by Ottoman forces into what is now central Slovakia. The ruins of the fortress survive today.
The priory frequently engaged in disputes with the nearby town of Krupina over property rights, which occasionally flared into violence in the 14th and 15th centuries. Bzovík was also the subject of a Hussite attack, which lead to the monastery being burned down in 1471.
The priory was ultimately destroyed in 1530 following an attack by Žigmund Balaša (Zsigmond Balassa), a powerful local lord and Protestant sympathiser. Balaša rebuilt the monastery into a fortress to defend against a feared attack by Ottoman forces into what is now central Slovakia. The ruins of the fortress survive today.
Heads of Community
Provosts
Stephanus, fl. 1263
Laurentius, 1285-1311
Jacobus, 1313-1316
Ladislaus, fl. 1406
Paulus I, fl. 1414
Albertus, fl. 1454
Michael, 1326-1331
Egidius, 1352-1358
Nicolaus, fl. 1360
Jacobus, 1360-1369
Nicolaus de Vytovia, fl. 1397
Michael, fl. 1471
Benedictus de Gadocz, fl. 1505
Andreas, 1517-1518
Paulus II, fl. 1523
Stephanus, fl. 1263
Laurentius, 1285-1311
Jacobus, 1313-1316
Ladislaus, fl. 1406
Paulus I, fl. 1414
Albertus, fl. 1454
Michael, 1326-1331
Egidius, 1352-1358
Nicolaus, fl. 1360
Jacobus, 1360-1369
Nicolaus de Vytovia, fl. 1397
Michael, fl. 1471
Benedictus de Gadocz, fl. 1505
Andreas, 1517-1518
Paulus II, fl. 1523
Status
Priory
Archival Sources
Bibliography
Bagi, Dániel. “Megjegyzések a bozóki prépostság birtokösszeíró okleveléhez.” In Prépostok, apátok, vikáriusok: Tanulmányok, 271–76. Az Árpád- és Anjou-kor magyar egyházi archontológiájának kérdései 3. Pécs: Kronosz, 2021.
Hnilica, Ján. “Kláštor v Bzovíku.” In Dejiny a kultúra rehoľných komunít na Slovensku, edited by Jozef Šimončič, 155–73. Trnava: Trnavská univerzita, 1994.
Lászlóová, Henrieta. “Dejiny premonštrátskeho prepošstva v Bzovíku.” Studia historica Tyrnaviensia 3 (2003): 113–29.
———. “Stredoveký stavebný vývoj bzovíckeho kláštora.” Pamiatky a múzeá, 2004, 32–36.
Mencl, Václav. “Premonštrátsky kláštor Bzovík s kostolom sv. Štefana.” Sborník Matice Slovenskej 13 (1935): 402–16.
Žažová, Henrieta. “Kláštor v Bzovíku za vlády Arpádovcov.” Hont a jeho dejiny, 2021. https://hontdejiny.sk/klastov-v-bzoviku-za-vlady-arpadovcov/.
———. “Miera koncentrácie majetkovej držby a jej vplyv na zemepanskú správu v prostredí premonštrátskych konventov v Bzovíku, Šahách a Kláštore pod Znievom.” Studia historica Tyrnaviensia 19 (2017): 144–64.
———. “Premonštráti v Bzovíku.” In Zlatá kniha Hontu, edited by Peter Urban, 214–21. Martin: Matrica slovenská, 2010.
———. “Szemelvények a bozóki, a bényi, a sági és a turóci monostorok történetéből.” In 900 éves a premontrei rend : tanulmányok a rend magyarországi történetéről, kulturális és művelődéstörténeti jelentőségéről, edited by Anna Kara and Ágnes Kusler, 45–52. Gödöllő: Magyar Premontrei Cirkária, 2022.
Žažová, Henrieta, Pavol Maliniak, and Rastislav Kožiak. Z histórie opevneného kláštora v Bzovíku. Bzovík: OZ Pod hradom, 2018. https://www.obecbzovik.sk/web_files/2020/8/718.pdf.
Image Credit
Aerial photograph of Bzovík Castle, 2010. Wikimedia.
Last Updated
Oct. 2026.
Files
Collection
Citation
“Bzovík,” A Premonstratensian Atlas, accessed October 16, 2026, https://yvonneseale.org/atlas/items/show/209.