How did the hermit colony operate?
The hermits actually lived in the caves carved into the basalt tufa. Their opening to Lake Balaton was originally closed off by a rubble masonry wall, with only small windows and doors. The interior of some caves was divided into smaller cells by a partition wall. In addition to the 28 m2 chapel and the hermits' personal cells, a more spacious cave (Cave 3) of nearly 40 m2 may have served as a communal space. The extremely puritanical living conditions were well suited to the ideal of the hermits of the time, a strict abstemious (ascetic) way of life. The hermits lived in community, although the exact number of former inhabitants of the colony is not known. The size of the communal spaces, the number of altars and contemporary examples suggest that some of the cells are still covered with rubble from rockfalls. The hermitage of Zebegény, which was founded by Andrew I and probably also dates back to the same period as Tihany, is very similar in character. In the case of St. Michael's Hill in Zebegény, it is thought that at one time about six hermits may have lived in caves built on two levels, one below the other, in the rock wall overlooking the Danube. The hermitages of Tihany, Zebegény, Bakonybél or Zoborhegy were probably closely linked to a nearby monastery (Benedictine or Basilian), which could have meant support in times of crisis or even for winter food supplies.
Is there evidence of the presence of early hermits?
In Hungary, the Tihany Monk Caves are the most comprehensively studied medieval hermit colony. Research from the 19th century to the present day has uncovered clear evidence of an Árpádian-age hermitage. One of the four caves known today (Cave 1) undoubtedly served as a chapel, since its sanctuary, which is oriented regularly to the east and raised by steps, preserves a carved rock niche for an altar and colorful patches of medieval paintwork above it. Moreover, at the western end of the chapel, rock-cut tombs, once covered with stone slabs, have been found. In the infill of one, a coin from Béla III (1172–1196) was discovered, albeit as a stray find. Some two dozen burials have been excavated in the northern vestibule of the chapel, at least some of which are definitely contemporary. The artifacts of the everyday life of the early hermits are scarcely known throughout Europe, but perhaps the few Árpádian-age pottery fragments found in Tihany can be considered their legacy.
Who inhabited the Monk Caves?
Located about 1 km from the Abbey of Tihany, the site of the caves cut into the basalt tufa was called Oroszkő (‘Russian Stone’) in the Middle Ages. Only from the beginning of the 13th century onwards do written sources directly mention the monks of the Church of St Nicholas of Oroszkő. It is an expressive place-name: ‘Russian’ refers to the origin of the first hermits, while the word ‘Stone’ is already mentioned in the abbey's founding charter of 1055 (in the Latin form ‘Petra’). King Andrew I, who was buried in the abbey's crypt, was baptized according to the Eastern rite, was himself brought up in Kiev and his wife came from there as well. So it is easy to understand why monks from the Kievan Rus (in the parlance of the time, ‘Russian’) were the first inhabitants of the Eastern rite (Basilian) cave monastery. The hermit colony presumably functioned until the 14th century, although in time it was transformed from a Basilian monastery into a priory of the Benedictine abbey.