Baba Pusta Castle in Aleksa Šantić Village
Nobleman Karoly Fernbach inherited a large piece of land in this area from his father (approx. 24x20km in size), which got the name "Baba Pusta" (Babapuszta) after his wife's nickname "Baba". In 1906-1907. he built this castle which got the same name, on a location close to the railway station and a small river stream. It was once surrounded by a beautiful, meticulously maintained garden, although a park would be a much more appropriate name considering its size. A small forest outlined the rim of this park, making it look like a green island with a tower in the middle when viewed from distance. Many eminent experts recognized this park as one of the most important horticulture sites in Vojvodina.
The building itself was designed by architect Ferenc J. Raichl in the Vienna Secession style. It featured large rooms with triple windows, a front porch facing the park and a chapel with fresco paintings and an altar. The central hall had a marble staircase leading to the gallery that provided access to many rooms on the first floor. Its walls were lined with rich ornaments made of marble, glass and wood. The monumental tower served as a viewpoint, from there the masters of the estate could oversee the works in their fields.
Years of neglect have transformed the magnificent garden into an impassable jungle. It fell victim to its former pride, with no maintenance the numerous plant species have proliferated out of control, tangling their branches and leaves into an impenetrable web. During summer months the visibility in this green mess is not more than 10 meters, you could be standing right in front of the main porch where once a bench and a fountain stood, and feel completely lost and disoriented. From the inside, windows and the front porch facing the park kind of look like they were barred on purpose.
The shape of the whole estate today is almost non-recognizable, the jaws of nature have opened wide to swallow what's left of the unfortunate building. Green tentacles are slowly creeping inside through hollow windows, climbing to reach the second floor where soil already formed over the splinters of the collapsed roof. Scavengers have taken virtually everything worth taking from the abandoned castle, what could not be taken away was simply smashed. The most notable sight was left by some treasure hunters who managed to break apart the large marble stand in the chapel and crack open a hole in its foundation. I doubt that they found anything other than the cold, hard stone which they left in pieces.
Only the tower still seems to defy the fate of the castle, however I may be one of the last persons that climbed to its top. The steep wooden staircase leading to the highest platform is about to crumble, I climbed up by supporting most of my weight on the surrounding structures, and despite that the last ramp partially cracked at the top and is now almost dangling in the air, loosely supported by the rusty water reservoir which is installed below it. Carrying the camera in my teeth I slowly lowered myself down hanging from the ceiling opening, and managed to grab a hold of the reservoir and the staircase support column.
Castle Baba Pusta appears in the movie Držanje Za Vazduh (1985), if you are curious to see how it looked some 30 years ago you may follow this link: Držanje Za Vazduh (1985) - YouTube
