St. Andrej Svorad (980? – 1034?), monk and hermit, came from Poland and his Slavic name is Svorad (Świerad in Polish). In the monastery of St. Hypolit in Zobor near Nitra he adopted name Andrej. He renounced a common life in Benedictine monastery and preferred a life of a hermit with fasting and uninterrupted prayer. One legend holds that his hermitage was in a small cave at Skalka mountains beside Trenčín above the Váh River, where he lived with his follower Benedict (? – 1037?). After Andrej’s death, the monk Benedict continued to live out in quiet seclusion at Skalka. Around...