Kláštor františkánov

On Jozef Miloslav Hurban Street, the church and monastery of the Franciscans are an important landmark. In 1701, the Hungarian Palatine, Prince Pavol ESTERHÁZY (1653 – 1713) invited the Franciscans to Žilina as well. The first members of the Order of Friars Minor arrived in Žilina in 1704. In 1723, they began the construction of the Baroque Franciscan monastery and the church of St. Barbara in Žilina. The monastery and the church were built behind the city walls, which was supposed to symbolize, among other things, the connection of the Franciscans with the common people. The entire construction of the Franciscan monastery and church was completed in 1731. The monastery building was originally only one-story. The second floor was added only after the First World War, in 1924.The so-called Barbarian Night put an end to the activities of the Franciscans in Žilina. It was the night of April 13 to 14, 1950. This night meant the forcible eviction of not only Franciscans, but members of all men's orders from monasteries, not only in Slovakia, but in the whole of what was then Czechoslovakia. The Žilina Franciscan monastery was first a Youth Home. In 1956, the Higher Music School moved here, which in 1961 transformed into a Conservatory.