Castles of Serbia

The Big Castle Danijel

in Stari Lec

Situated in the village of Stari Lec, in Plandište municipality, the Big Castle Danijel was built by the members of Magyarized Armenian family of Danijel (it is probably from original surname Danijeljan) – they were landlords at the time. Located exactly at the centre of the village it was actually erected in 1890 by the Count Pal Danijel  – who would later become Grand Župan (Ispán) in charge of Tamiš (Temes) County centred in the city of Temišvar (today Timișoara). This single-storey building of rectangular plan was built in Classicist style. What makes it distinctive are avant-corps and the watchtower sited on the west side. Designed in Romantic style, the watchtower is the castle’s landmark. Portico is actually a porch that makes a roofed and enclosed entrance with straight centrally-positioned stairs. At the level of the cornice the flat roof ends in an attic. The roof is supported by square concrete beams. The rear terrace is closed and it serves as another room.

The castle is in pretty good shape. It is state-owned and not open to the public since it houses a psychiatric institution. The castle has been declared a cultural property.

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This project was supported by the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia.