Twenty miles to the west of Budapest, the remains of a 13th-century monastic church sit on top of a hill in the small Hungarian town of Zsámbék. Construction of the church began in 1220 and was completed some 30 years later by the middle of the century. Descendants of a French knight, Ainordi (Aynard) de Champagne, originally funded the building of the Premonstratensian church. Founded in 1120, Premonstratensian monks believed in living a severely austere lifestyle. In 1241, Mongols destroyed parts of the church during an invasion of Hungary. Despite…
