13th Century Hospital

 

Altar to Virgin Mary, Fransiscan Church in Szeged

Fun Fact: St. Istvan, founder of Hungary, one of the sculptures to the right of the Virgin, died having no heirs. He gave his crown to the Virgin Mary, making her the perpetual queen of Hungary.

In the 13th Century, Szeged sat at the crossroads of two important regional trade routes:  the Transcarpathian which came from the east along the Tisza River and the Transylvanian, which came from Constantinople in the southeast. It was on this site that the Order of Knights founded a hospital to serve the residents and travelers throughout the region.                                                 13th Century Trade Routes

The 13th Century is also significant as it was the founding of the Fransiscan Order of the Catholic church.  In 1210, by papal decree, Francis of Assisi was allowed to organize a group of monks who were not like the Benedictine monks who had begun establishing orders and monasteries as early as the 7th Century. To be a Benedictine monk, one needed to be literate, which meant that those who pledged themselves to a life of poverty and chastity came from noble families. While they themselves did not seek to amass wealth, their noble fathers could make sizable donations to these religious communities which were often tucked away in remote, rural areas and rarely had any dealings with those outside their religious community. Having grown up as the son of an Italian cloth merchant, Francis of Assissi related more easily to the common man. He and his band of brothers, called friars, roamed the land preaching the gospel. They had adopted Jesus' charge to the seventy to go out into the villages to preach the good news, to not carry any money, and to eat what is put before them. Thus, they had to depend on the generosity for lodging and food. 

In the 13th Century, hospitals also operated as hotels. When Fransiscan friars arrived in Szeged, they stayed at the hospital and helped out. Indeed, in addition to preaching, the Fransiscan friars became reknown for their healing gifts. From their travels, they had learned how to use various herbs and spices to treat diseases. They planted a garden and orchard from which they could create the medicines needed to treat various ailments. From the fruit, they made palinka, a traditional Hungarian alcohol, to which they added sweet peppers or chili peppers to treat malaria. They would also mix it with while lilies to treat other ailments.

In 1444, an earthquate destroyed the hospital. The monks repurposed the materials to build a church and monastery. The church was completed in 1503. Painters and sculptors were commissioned Some of the gardens still remain, but it is primarily a religious community.  We were not allowed to tour the rooms of the monks who live on the middle floor or the monks in training who study at the University of Szeged and live in the dormitories on the top floor, but we were told that they have a gym. There is also a drafting room; one of the monks is a graphic designer and offers lessons to those in the community.

These are pictures of the paintings and sculptures in the sanctuary, which is open to visitors.

The preacher's box