The Banloc Castle

The Banloc Castle, built in a U-shape, is a massive building with thick walls (about 1.25 m) of burnt brick, with the main façade facing south, and two wings forming a terraced courtyard to the north (court of honor).

On the southern façade, the castle had an attic with a stone blazon of the Karátsonyi family, as a unique ornament. This heraldic mark was preserved even after the castle became the property of the Royal House of Romania, being laid down after 1948.

The heraldic mark also existed on a mosaic in the courtyard of the castle. The year "MDCCLIX" was also mentioned here. The attic fell to the earthquake in 1991.

The northern façade of the castle features several decorative elements: the baroque bridge windows, the well-defined alto-relievos (heraldic motifs and themes inspired by Greek-Roman mythology) embedded in the masonry. In addition, there are important the 18th-century ironwork that closed the courtyard, as well as the wrought iron lamps (one on each corner of the courtyard) and which, in their decorative structure, specified the year 1793.

Although there are no testimonies in this respect, it seems that the frequent representations of the Greek god Pan (in the park there were at least two statues whose fragments are currently found at the Banat Museum in Timişoara) are closely related to the name of the locality: Panloch - Panloc - Banloc, name that would translate into "Master's Place".

Coming from Deta to Banloc, at the end of an impressive 500-meter pine alley, Pinus Nigra species, is the Andrássy Gate or the Lions Gate. The latter name was due to the two griffins that decorated the main pillars. The name of the gate and alley is inspired by the name of Caroline Andrássy, the wife of Count Karátsonyi Jenő (Eugen), and was adapted by the inhabitants of the commune under the name of "The Road of Andrass". At the present, the gate still only exists in old photos and views. It was demolished in the 1970s and the griffins disappeared with it.

Situated on the northern side of the park, a "neo-gothic" English gate, which still exists today, provides access to and from the train station located about 2 km north.

For visiting: contact person - Aurel Laioş (phone 0723365295)

Text și photo source: http://turismtimis.ro/