The Marianhill Monastery was established in 1885, after a long search for
suitable land, by Father Francis Pfanner, an Austrian monk. The first Catholic
missionaries to arrive in Durban found that there were already groups of traders
with strong protestant ties established in the area. After struggling to find
suitable land in the growing town, they stationed themselves in the hills
surrounding Durban, from where they Later went on to establish many missions in
the province.
Soon the community totaled 285 monks, and held the status of the largest
Trappist settlement in the world. The Marianhill monastery was built in the
Romanesque Revival style. The complex, in the "valley of the monks" is located
near Pinetown, and now includes the monastery, church, campanile, workshops and
museum, a repository, sisters' convent with vestment department, the Jabulani
Self Help Centre, St Francis College and St Joseph's Cathedral. The Monastery
Retreat House, which looks across the valley of the Umhlatuzana River to the
hills beyond, is open to both religious and lay people seeking spiritual
guidance, enrichment and renewal.
Other places of interest within the Marianhill Monastery include: