Castles of Serbia

Villa of Dr Petrović

Banja Koviljača

Dr. Petrović’s villa represents one of the most beautiful villas outside the park in Banja Koviljaca. It was built for the needs of a reputable paediatrician, Dr. Mihajlo Petrović from Šabac. It is located on the slopes of the mountain Gučevo, in the immediate vicinity of Villa Gučevo. The villa is small in size, it is practically a summer house, but it is of striking beauty and interesting architectural design, so it was often found on the postcards of Banja Koviljača, captured within the same frame with the nearby Villa Gučevo.

 

It is believed that Dr. Petrović only used his summer house when he came during the summer months, since he was a seasonal doctor in Banja. The villa was built around 1910-1911 years, and we have only indirect data on this. Unfortunately, the name of the architect was lost. The building is very harmonious and strikingly white in colour. Here you can find an academic approach with elements of eclecticism, a very popular design of that time. The building is ground floor but has a basement and an attic with a maiden room.

Particularly impressive is the main motif of the composition of the front – and it is an outstanding porch on the pillars of a rectangular base, surmounted by a decorative fringed-pyramidal dome with a decorative fence made of wrought iron on top. On the ground floor around the central hall, two living rooms are symmetrically arranged on one side, and a kitchen and office on the other. The interior is made of different types of stone, stucco decoration, but also other details of applied arts. Here we see the refined taste of the purchaser of the castle, who wanted his small castle to stand out from its surroundings and resemble those in Austria-Hungary or the Russian Empire. The courtyard around the house with patches of ornamental plants contributed to a pleasant stay, while today the yard has been reduced by the construction of other buildings. On each side of the building there are small auxiliary rooms with staircases and terraces at the top, bordered by white fence.

On the sides, the windows were walled up over time, although the old pictures reveal that they originally existed. Also, the moderate use of the white textured wall and green shutters and window woodwork gives a special complexion to this building.