Prince Géza founded the abbey in 996 as the first Hungarian Benedictine monastery, dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. Its buildings were destroyed in 1137 and rebuilt. The present church, called a crowning achievement of early Gothic, was built at the start of the 13th century and most likely consecrated in 1224. Its oldest visible part, the southern aisle wall, dates from the 12th century.
The cloister was begun under King Matthias in 1472, with completion around 1486. The Baroque refectory dates from the time of Archabbot Benedek Sajghó, who served from 1722 to 1768, with walls painted in secco between 1728 and 1730. Ferenc Engel built the library in the 1820s, and János Packh extended it and designed the oval hall. It holds 400,000 volumes.
The abbey stands on a hill 925 feet (282 m) high. UNESCO inscribed it in 1996 over 117 acres (47.4 hectares). The article gives no visitor information.
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