Bakonybél Abbey

The establishment of the monastery is connected to the activities of a Thuringian nobleman, Gunther.

[1] He entered the Niederaltaich Abbey in order to do penance for his earlier sins, but later became a hermit in the woodlands along the borders between Bavaria and Bohemia.

[2] Gunther even lived as hermit in the forests of the Bakony Hills near a royal manor at Veszprém around 1018.

[3][1] Upon his initiative, another saintly man, the Venetian Gerard – who was appointed to educate King Stephen's son, Emeric – built a chapel at the foot of a nearby hill[4] where he spent seven years of his life as a hermit.

[3] Gunther persuaded, in 1037, King Stephen to erect a new chapel dedicated to Saint Maurice, transform his royal manor into a monastery and grant his nearby estates to it.