Embraced by silence – Pleterje, Slovenia

Where the last houses of the village of Šmarje end and the wine road takes a sharp westward turn and the only thing you get to see are orchards and vineyards lazing in the sun to the south of the Gorjanci mountain range is the monastery of the Carthusian order Pleterje, surrounded by century and named “Domus sanctissimae Trinitatis” in Latin, as we can see from medieval documents. The walk alone, from the parking space up the creek, takes you a few centuries back, while walking through the avenue of lime trees. The defending tall walls give us the distinct feeling of mystery, tickling our curiosity to go and explore the life seperated from the outside world.

As all Slovenian monasteries this, fourth and youngest Carthusian monastery in Slovenia, also had a turbulent history. It dates back to 1403 when count Herman II of Celje decided it to become his last resting place. The monastery and the chapel were constructed in 1407 and the final changed were made in 1410, when the monastery became the part of the Carthusian order. The complex of the monastery including the old Carthusia (only the old gothic church remained of it) as well as the other inner parts of the monastery built no later than 1420, are still closed to the general public. The connection between the counts of Celje with the monastery contributed a lot to its development, which is also obvious, since Herman II actually is buried here. His resting place can be found under the stairs of the main altar of the church, and that’s the highest possible honor the order could give to a person.

Unfortunately not 50 years have passed since the monastery housed its first inhabitants that harsh times settled in. The death of Ulrik II, the last of the dynasty to the counts of Celje in 1456 was the beginning of the downfall of the carthusian order in Pleterje. The monastery was also exposed to Turkish raids in the area, when the Ottoman empire tried to conquer the Holy Roman empire of German Nationality (as the Austrian empire was named at the time). In the raid of 1471 the eastern part of the monastery was burned down and the monks taken for physical labor. Yet shortly after the monastery was rebuilt and surrounded by a high defense wall, which remained intact to this day.

At the end of the 16th century ethnic groups from other regions of Balkans (mostly Serbs) started seeking refuge here, when the Turks occupied most of the Balkans. Due to this Uskos the territory of the monastery had yet again shrunk. The deterioration continued until the end of the century when the Jesuit order became the patrons of the monastery in 1595. This put a holt to the carthusian activities until 1899 when their order returned to Pleterje and bought back the monastery. And when things seemed to have cooled down the second world war came and the monastery was attacked and most of the monks’ chambers were burnet in 1943.

The lei monks still live their solitary lives there, but their numbers have reduced to about ten monks. Each of them has specific work to do and spends some 7 hours a day in quiet meditation and the rest to do the handy work needed. Their lives are hence in accordance to praising and living the will of god, with complete dedication of the body and soul, either through isolation and meditation, or through work. Their quarters are modest cells of two parts where they sleep and pray. The food is also modest but with much attention to the details of preparation. They do not eat any meat except for fish which come from their own pond. Once a week (usually on Fridays) the monks who chose so live only on bread and water to “abstain” from the worldly goods. They also observe other rituals and decline food in festive days, when they only eat once a day and consume no dairy products.

To join any community a certain amount of courage is necessary. Each candidate who wishes to join, has to be a devoted catholic, for the only pleasure of being there is the awareness of doing things according to the higher causes of god’s will. You need to be able to endure both physical and psychological isolation and you need to love god more than yourself. Only then can you go through the test to join the order. The priors are elected from the monastery by the monks themselves and they gather every two years in order to choose their general, who leads the order and is elected by the Grand Carthusia.

Since the monks spend most of their lives in solitude and speechless the service to god is the only way of socializing. All the monks gather three times a day for mass, which can last up to three hours all together. They sing the hymns without any instruments and always in latin. After the common prayer they continue to pray for themselves, trying to connect to god. At weekends and holidays, when during their meals one of the monks reads aloud holy scripts and once a month they get to have a longer walk outside the monastery walls – in pairs and in shifts, so all the monks get to speak to each other. Apart from these walks or emergencies (like a visit to a doctor) they do not leave the monastery. Relatives may visit, but only once a year and only for the maximum of two days.

Slowly leaving the monastery courtyard filled with new energy oozing from the thick walls of the past, we stop and observe the gate over the shoulder to think what a challenge life can be, and how many ups and downs await us on our way if we only tend to become what we desire to be, either in solitude or in company. And how we can live behind walls or among people, who care only for themselves and do not care for others... or simply to enjoy life in the quiet of the nature, away from all the technology in the spirit of the past ages.

Nina Žnideršič