Mariastern Abbey is a Trappist abbey in Bosnia and Herzegovina, situated near the country's second largest city Banja Luka. It was founded in 1869 by trappist Franz Pfanner. It consists of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1873) and the monastery of Trappist monks. It is the only Trappist monastery in Southeastern Europe. At the beginning of the 20th century, with 219 monks, the Abbey was the largest Trappist abbey in the world; today it is the smallest, with only two monks.
References:Ogrodzieniec Castle is a ruined medieval castle originally built in the 14th–15th century by the W³odkowie Sulimczycy family. Established in the early 12th century, during the reign of Boles³aw III Wrymouth, the first stronghold was razed by the Tatars in 1241. In the mid-14th century a new gothic castle was built here to accommodate the Sulimczycy family. Surrounded by three high rocks, the castle was well integrated into the area. The defensive walls were built to close the circuit formed by the rocks, and a narrow opening between two of the rocks served as an entrance.
In 1470 the castle and lands were bought by the wealthy Cracovian townsmen, Ibram and Piotr Salomon. Then, Ogrodzieniec became the property of Jan Feliks Rzeszowski, the rector of Przemy¶l and the canon of Cracow. The owners of the castle about that time were also Jan and Andrzej Rzeszowskis, and later Pilecki and Che³miñski families. In 1523 the castle was bought by Jan Boner.