Marianka
Encyclopedia
Marianka is a village and municipality
in western Slovakia
in Malacky District
in the Bratislava region
, in the foothills of the Little Carpathians
. The village is the oldest pilgrimage
site in Slovakia and the first pilgrimage site dedicated to Virgin Mary in the area of former Hungarian Kingdom. It used to be as famous as the well known Mariazell
in Austria and the Polish pilgrimage place Częstochowa
. The communist regime between years 1948-1989 suppressed all religious activity and the village as a pilgrimage site was planned for demise, however the village survived.
The cornerstone of the church was laid by Louis I. the Great in 1377, in response to spreading word about rumoured miracles. The church was finished in 1380 and its administration was given to Order of St. Paul
. Pauline Fathers administered the parish for 400 years. During the time Marianka was several times raided by Turkish hordes. The statue of Virgin Mary had to be hidden in Pajštún fortress. The number of pilgrims rose with its peak in 1730 when 50,000 visitors attended the church service. To meet the growing number of visitors, Chapel of St. Anne was built in 1691.
Among prominent visitors of Marianka were Sigmund
, Leopold I.
and Joseph I
. Emperor Charles III.
came to visit Marianka right after his coronation as Hungarian king in 1712 from Bratislava. Maria Theresa
visited Marianka twice with her son Joseph II
. Marianka was also a favorite marriage place for local nobility. There was a custom that during this occasion they were giving to the Virgin Mary their wedding rings and also donating robes for the statue made out of their bridal clothes.
Turing point in village's history was abolishment of contemplative orders by Joseph II
in 1786, because of which the Pauline order
had to leave Marianka. From this point onwards Marianka was managed by the local diocese. A new development of the pilgrimage place began in 1927 when Congregatio fratrum consolatorum de Gethsemani managed the site until 1950, when the communist regime abolished all catholic orders. After November 1989 they returned to Marianka and remain until today.
The second legend tells the story of finding the Virgin Mary of Tálenská statue. The legend dating from the year 1030 speaks about its origin: a god-devoted pilgrim living in the forests carved it out of pear wood. Shortly after finishing the statue, dangerous times came. Country governors were fighting among themselves for the throne, while barbaric riders were raiding and destroying everything Christian. The pilgrim decided to save the statue and hid it in a hollow tree. Years after that, people used to come to this valley from around the country, seeking restoration either physical or spiritual, but none knew where the miracle was coming from. One day, an old blind beggar who was praying in the forest, heard a voice from the heavens. The voice told him that if he washes his eyes in the nearby stream a miracle will happen. As soon as the begger washed his eyes in the water, they opened and he could see. He saw the statue of the Virgin Mary of Tálenská in the stream and took it from there. He made a pedestal for the statue, and placed an image of Virgin Mary beside it. There he came often to pray to the statue.
Although these legends are not regarded as reliable historical source, there are several remarks regarding the Mariathal miracles in the records of the Pauline cloister dating up to year 1661.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in western Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
in Malacky District
Malacky District
The Malacky District is a district inthe Bratislava Region of western Slovakia. Until 1918, the district was part of the Hungarian county of Pressburg.-Municipalities:*Borinka*Gajary*Jablonové*Jakubov*Kostolište*Kuchyňa*Láb...
in the Bratislava region
Bratislava Region
The Bratislava Region is one of the administrative regions of Slovakia. Its capital is Bratislava. It is the smallest of the eight regions of Slovakia.-Geography:...
, in the foothills of the Little Carpathians
Little Carpathians
The Little Carpathians are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto nad Váhom, a very small part called Hundsheimer Berge is situated south of Devín Gate in...
. The village is the oldest pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
site in Slovakia and the first pilgrimage site dedicated to Virgin Mary in the area of former Hungarian Kingdom. It used to be as famous as the well known Mariazell
Mariazell
Mariazell is a small city in Austria, in Styria, well known for winter sports, 143 km N. of Graz. It is picturesquely situated in the valley of the Salza, amid the north Styrian Alps....
in Austria and the Polish pilgrimage place Częstochowa
Czestochowa
Częstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...
. The communist regime between years 1948-1989 suppressed all religious activity and the village as a pilgrimage site was planned for demise, however the village survived.
History
In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1357. First settlers however inhabited area of present-day Marianka already in primeval times. Settlement dating to late Bronze Age located above the slate quarry was discovered during research between 1986 - 1990. Fragments of iron utensils were found along with unusual convenience, a painted floor.The cornerstone of the church was laid by Louis I. the Great in 1377, in response to spreading word about rumoured miracles. The church was finished in 1380 and its administration was given to Order of St. Paul
The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit
The Pauline Fathers a Hungarian order of the Roman Catholic Church, are more formally known as The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit .This name is derived from the hermit Saint Paul of Thebes , canonized in 491 by Pope Gelasius I...
. Pauline Fathers administered the parish for 400 years. During the time Marianka was several times raided by Turkish hordes. The statue of Virgin Mary had to be hidden in Pajštún fortress. The number of pilgrims rose with its peak in 1730 when 50,000 visitors attended the church service. To meet the growing number of visitors, Chapel of St. Anne was built in 1691.
Among prominent visitors of Marianka were Sigmund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
, Leopold I.
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
and Joseph I
Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph I , Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, King of the Romans was the elder son of Emperor Leopold I and his third wife, Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg....
. Emperor Charles III.
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
came to visit Marianka right after his coronation as Hungarian king in 1712 from Bratislava. Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
visited Marianka twice with her son Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
. Marianka was also a favorite marriage place for local nobility. There was a custom that during this occasion they were giving to the Virgin Mary their wedding rings and also donating robes for the statue made out of their bridal clothes.
Turing point in village's history was abolishment of contemplative orders by Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
in 1786, because of which the Pauline order
The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit
The Pauline Fathers a Hungarian order of the Roman Catholic Church, are more formally known as The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit .This name is derived from the hermit Saint Paul of Thebes , canonized in 491 by Pope Gelasius I...
had to leave Marianka. From this point onwards Marianka was managed by the local diocese. A new development of the pilgrimage place began in 1927 when Congregatio fratrum consolatorum de Gethsemani managed the site until 1950, when the communist regime abolished all catholic orders. After November 1989 they returned to Marianka and remain until today.
Geography
The village lies at an altitude of 220 metres and covers an area of 3.22 km². It has population of 1,147 people.List of historical monuments
- Pilgrimage Church of the Virgin Mary Birth
- Chapel of St. Anne
- Rotunda Chapel of the Holy WellChapel of the Holy WellChapel of the Holy well is a chapel located in Marianka, Slovakia, upon the rumoured miraculous stream. The stream was reported to have miraculous healing effect on physically handicapped pilgrims visiting the pilgrimage site. In book of Kummer from the record of local cloister, 140 unusual...
- Shrine to the Virgin MaryShrines to the Virgin MaryIn the culture and practice of some Christian Churches - mainly, but not solely, the Roman Catholic Church - a Shrine to the Virgin Mary is a shrine marking an apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Marian devotion...
resembling cave in Lourdes, France - Marian route (consisting of six chapels)
- Statues of St. AnthonyAnthony the HermitAnthony the Hermit , also known as Antony of Lérins, is a Christian saint. Anthony was born in Italy in the late 5th century, and raised from the age of eight by his relative St. Severinus...
and St. Paul, the Hermits - Statue of St. Paul the Hermit
- Statue of St. John NepomukJohn of NepomukJohn of Nepomuk is a national saint of the Czech Republic, who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of the Romans and King of Bohemia. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional...
Legends about miracles
There are two legends concerning the statue of Virgin Mary, nowadays placed upon altar in local church. The older legend tells about miraculous healing of children. It speaks of the bloodthirsty bandit, based in the local forests. Although his newborn child was "a beast more similar to animal than human" and its affliction was considered as God's punishment, he still continued in his brutal ways. But his wife prayed sincerely and asked for mercy and her prayers was heard out. An apparition led her to the stream where her children "after washing, into healthy and happy children turned". The news about the miraculous strength of the stream spread all around the country. Large queues of blind, crippled and sick beggars rushed to Marianka with their prayers to drink and wash themselves in the blessed stream. They believed that the miraculous powers of the stream were directly from Virgin Mary, who is called "Health of the sick" and "Comforter of the afflicted" in Marian litany.The second legend tells the story of finding the Virgin Mary of Tálenská statue. The legend dating from the year 1030 speaks about its origin: a god-devoted pilgrim living in the forests carved it out of pear wood. Shortly after finishing the statue, dangerous times came. Country governors were fighting among themselves for the throne, while barbaric riders were raiding and destroying everything Christian. The pilgrim decided to save the statue and hid it in a hollow tree. Years after that, people used to come to this valley from around the country, seeking restoration either physical or spiritual, but none knew where the miracle was coming from. One day, an old blind beggar who was praying in the forest, heard a voice from the heavens. The voice told him that if he washes his eyes in the nearby stream a miracle will happen. As soon as the begger washed his eyes in the water, they opened and he could see. He saw the statue of the Virgin Mary of Tálenská in the stream and took it from there. He made a pedestal for the statue, and placed an image of Virgin Mary beside it. There he came often to pray to the statue.
Although these legends are not regarded as reliable historical source, there are several remarks regarding the Mariathal miracles in the records of the Pauline cloister dating up to year 1661.