Banja Luka

Mariastern Abbey is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Republika Srpska entity, near Banja Luka.

The Trappists arrived in Banja Luka in the mid-19th century (1869). Having purchased land in the village of Delibašino, they founded the monastery and quickly set to work.

This foundation was the culmination of the hard work of Father Frans Pfaner, who had been searching for nearly two years for a place to establish a Trappist monastery in Southeast Europe.

The Trappists settled temporarily in a wooden hut. Nine Trappist monks lived there and called this shed "the cradle." Inside the shed were two wooden barrels in which the Trappists kept their books, breviary, ink, and paper.

The Vicar General and Abbot of Sept-Fons, Dom Jérôme, visited the monastery in May 1885 and was very pleased with its situation. He therefore recommended that the monastery of Mariastern be designated as an abbey and obtained the support of the members of the Chapter of the Trappist Order, who forwarded this proposal to Rome.

Between 1890 and 1900, numerous improvements and modernization works were undertaken, and semi-industrial workshops were set up or modernized (textile factory, brewery, cheese dairy, printing works).

After World War II, all the abbey's properties were expropriated, with only a few plots of land and buildings remaining in the abbey's possession.

Most of the Trappists left Mariastern Abbey in 1944. When the Banja Luka brewery (founded by the Trappists prior to the expropriation) was expanded, the original monastery site contained only a few commercial facilities from the former abbey complex, which were rebuilt, enlarged, and converted for the needs of the brewery. Other buildings from the old abbey complex, the old church, the monastery, and a few commercial premises were demolished, and new buildings have since been erected on the site.

Most of the new monastery was rebuilt for the needs of the rehabilitation center, while the church, several rooms on the upper floor in part of the right wing of the monastery, and the monastery cemetery remained in the possession of the monastery. The 1969 earthquake caused very serious damage.

The new monastery is currently home to only two monks, who continue to make cheese.

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The Brewery (1)

It appears that the brewery was founded in 1875.

However, we know that it was already brewing in 1881 (around 547 hl), and that this volume increased in the following years (6,500 hl, then up to 50,000 hl around 1898-1899, before falling back to around 6,000 hl in 1907...).

The monks initially brewed beer for their own consumption.

Subsequently, beer was also produced for the neighboring village, and probably given to the needy for a time, before being sold more widely.

It is likely that this beer was bottom-fermented, as evidenced by the Czech and German equipment found on site. In 1889, it was decided to expand and modernize the brewery, and the new equipment was installed by Czech craftsmen. The new brewery was completed at the end of 1897, after work had been halted for over a year due to a fatal accident during the construction of the roof structure.

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The Brewery (2)

The brewing method was taught to the monks by Elegius Blavart, from Brno (Moravia, CZ). With production capacity greatly expanded, it was now time to sell, and that was a whole different story.

Problems arose with rival brewers who did not want to see their regional monopoly eroded. The rival brewers accused the Trappists of spreading German culture and exploiting the local population.

Many inns refused to stock their beer, even though it was cheaper and better than those from Sarajevo.

Father Dominic decided to rent or build pubs in Bosanski Novi (Novigrad), Bugojno, Jajce, Prijedor, Prnjavor, and Tuzla. There were no equivalent facilities in these locations. These were later closed and sold due to persistent accusations from competitors that the Trappists were engaging in unfair competition, focusing more on commerce than prayer.

The Trappist brewery employed local staff, and attempts were made to produce malt on site, but the results were disappointing. Brewing sugar, on the other hand, was produced on site.

The monks also tried for a time to grow their own hops, but eventually gave up and imported them from Slovenia. During World War II, the Croatian government took control of the brewery, followed by the communists. The Trappists were expropriated of many of their possessions, including their brewery.

The Banja Luka brewery remains one of the largest breweries in the Republika Srpska.

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