I visited this WHS in 2022 by car en route from Vienna. The usual base is Gyor, but there are also a few guesthouses near the archabbey proper which are better situated to enjoy the archabbey at sunset (best lighting on the golden mosaics of the tower) or after sunrise. It lies on a hill and it is best to park at the upper parking area near the millenium memorial chapel.

Benedictine monks from Breznov (near Prague) arrived to the hill of St Martin in 996. Under the leadership of Abbot Anastasius, they founded a monastery to promote the Christianisation of Hungary. The church was consecrated as early as 1001 and a monastery was built adjoining the church to the south. The current early Gothic style three-nave church of the archabbey was consecrated in 1224. However, archaeological excavations prove that instead of today's church, there was another stone church of almost the same size which was standing already in the times of St. Stephen. The WHS includes the surroundings of the monastery with the Chapel of Our Lady on the hill furthest from the abbey. This single-aisled Baroque church was built between 1714 and 1725 and its crypt is still in use as the burial place for the monks of the monastery. Near this chapel lies a treetop walkway, a panoramic viewpoint, the millenium chapel and just opposite the archabbey an arboretum with lavender fields.

The main entrance to the archabbey is reserved for the monks, with a UNESCO WHS plaque near the gate. From there one has to walk round the whole building through what is known as the Avenue of Lindens to get to the ticket booth near an outdoor sports pitch. From here you climb a few steps to reach the outer "plaza" beneath the tower and cathedral of the archabbey. The defining part of the monastery's western front is the almost 50 metres high tower, built in the Classicist style in the 1820s. Above its bronze gate with a peacock on top and stained glass, the wall is decorated with a large glass mosaic illustrating the dual mission of the Benedictine order: convert and teach. The oldest walls of the monastery are found in the cathedral, its cloister and its three-aisled crypt. According to legend, St. Stephen's Pannonhalma throne is hiding behind the wall cabin in the section between the two staircases.

However, my favourite part of the archabbey was the 19th century classicist library. Just before entering the library, there's also a Roman inscription. Its cherry wood shelves and bookcases host one of the largest collections of theological books comprising over 400,000 tomes. The two interconnecting oval halls, with their gilded and marbled wooden columns, form one of the most harmonius interiors in Hungary. Precious treasures from Hungarian history and literature are preserved in the library, along with the first written records of the country. National relics, such as the Charter of Pannonhalma (1001) and the Tihany Deed of Foundation (!055) are kept here, along with 60 charters from the Arpadian age. Other works of outstanding value are the Forgach Codex (1511), the Biblia Sacra (13th century), the Thuroczy Chronicle (1488) and the Pecsi Missale (1499).