Küszén Abbey
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 Burg Güssing, which was built by Béla III of Hungary on the pedestal of the short-lived and confiscated Küszén monastery | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Benedictine |
| Established | 1157 |
| Disestablished | c. 1180 |
| Mother house | Pannonhalma Archabbey |
| Dedicated to | Virgin Mary |
| Diocese | Győr |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Wolfer |
| Site | |
| Location | Güssing, Burgenland, Austria |
The Küszén Abbey was a short-lived Benedictine Christian monastery on the top of the mountain Küszén in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary (today Burgenland, Austria). The monastery was established by German-born knight Wolfer, forefather of the powerful Kőszegi family. It was subordinated to the Pannonhalma Archabbey. After a few decades of operation, Béla III of Hungary confiscated the monastery from the Benedictine friars and erected a castle in place of the abbey around 1180.[1]
Brothers Wolfer and Héder arrived to the Kingdom of Hungary during the reign of Géza II of Hungary. Wolfer was granted lands beyond the Austrian border, most of his estates laid in the valley of stream Strém (or Strem) and centered around the hill of Küszén.[2] In 1157, Gervasius, Bishop of Győr contributed and permitted the foundation of a Benedictine abbey at the top of the mountain of Küszén, to comes Wolfer, who donated several surrounding lands and vineyards to the monastery. Gervasius subordinated the monastery to the Pannonhalma Abbey and dedicated the new monastery to Virgin Mary. Wolfer settled people to the surrounding uninhabited lands, who were allowed to pay the tithe directly to the monastery. Géza II confirmed the foundation of the abbey.[3] The establishing charter of the Küszén Abbey was preserved through a shortened transliteration from 1230, as a result formerly some historians doubted its authenticity. Later medieval chronicles, for instance the Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum and the Illuminated Chronicle also preserved the foundation of the abbey. In an anachronistic way, the chronicles also suggest that Wolfer erected a "wooden fort" there, but decades later, the castle of Németújvár (Güssing) was built based on the abbey's stone walls. It is also possible the chronicles refer to the construction of the fort of Hédervár, and the authors merged the two locations accidentally or intentionally in their works.[1] A few years later, Wolfer died. He was buried in the monks' cloister after his death.[4]