Majk Hermitage – where silence and noise meet

In 1733, József Esterházy offered his estates around Majk, including a 1,200-acre wilderness area, lakes and mills, for the establishment of the hermitage. He commissioned Franz Anton Pilgram, a renowned Austrian architect representing the Baroque style, to design the complex. Originally, he planned twenty cell houses, but only seventeen were ultimately built. The foundation stone was laid in 1753, and a fish was placed beside it as a symbol of silence. The construction was financed by donations from Hungarian aristocratic families, commemorated by the family coats of arms placed on the main façades of the houses⁴. Between 1745 and 1752, the Foresteria was built, housing guest rooms as well as communal areas for the monks, such as the kitchen, library and barber’s room. Between 1753 and 1770, the church was constructed, where the hermits celebrated Mass together. The church tower offers a magnificent view of the surrounding landscape and the Vértes Mountains.

In 1782, Emperor Joseph II dissolved most religious orders operating within the borders of the empire and the kingdom, and the Camaldolese Order was among those affected⁵. At that time, eleven ordained fathers (priests) and four brothers lived in the hermitage. Some remained in Hungary, while others moved to Italy. By 1784, the estate had become completely empty, with only the mill workers remaining. In 1806, Károly Esterházy purchased the property and leased it to a cloth factory. From the 1860s onwards, the Esterházy family used the buildings as a hunting lodge. After the Second World War, the complex served as a hospital, and later a secondary school and boarding school operated here. The last owners were the grandparents of writer Péter Esterházy: Móric Esterházy, who briefly served as prime minister of Hungary, and his wife, Countess Margit Károlyi. She lived here until 1975, although after her husband’s escape she no longer stayed in the hunting lodge but moved into one of the former cell houses⁶.