Dechtice lies at the southeastern foot of the Little Carpathians about 20 km north of Trnava. The village is rich in sacral monuments and one of them is the romantic ruins of the Church and Monastery of St. Catherine. It lies hidden in the westernmost outcrop of the cadastral area of Dechtice and the locals know it under the name Katarínka.
Dechtice lies at the southeastern foot of the Little Carpathians about 20 km north of Trnava. The village is rich in sacral monuments and one of them is the romantic ruins of the Church and Monastery of St. Catherine. It lies hidden in the westernmost outcrop of the cadastral area of Dechtice and the locals know it under the name Katarínka.
The extensive Baroque monastery complex was gradually expanded and enlarged and was one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the Esztergom Archdiocese. Catherine was the place of the Franciscan novitiate and the destination of many pilgrimages of the common people from far and wide. In the seventeenth century, it was damaged several times during the uprisings or Turkish invasions, but it was always repaired and life in it pulsated further. However, what the troops failed to do, politics succeeded - in July 1786, the monastery was accompanied by hundreds of other decrees of Emperor Joseph II. canceled. The monks had to leave the place, the inventory was taken away and destroyed, and the monastery began to fall into disrepair. It would seem that its interesting and tumultuous history ends here.
Today you can still see the well-preserved church ruins with a tower and the remains of one wing of the monastery building. The monastery is located off the main roads and important hiking trails, which on the one hand helped to keep it in good condition (even after two hundred years of dilapidation still stand the walls and church tower), but on the other hand the monastery remained hidden from sight and attention of most history lovers and rare monuments. But every visitor who finds himself at these majestic ruins is enchanted by their beauty, dignity and special magical atmosphere radiated by centuries-old stones in the majestic silence of the surrounding forest wasteland.
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