Pin’s Villa

As I promised in my last two posts about weekend in Banat, here is the highlight of our trip. We are in Zrenjanin, 13th Ivo Lole Ribara Street.

Pin’s villa was built in 1894 as a French style castle by Budapest’s architect Laslo Djalush for Leon Shtegervald. It is Eclecticism at it’s best with Gothic and Romanticism elements. Two years later, Ferenc Danijel buys it and he owns it until 1919, when certain Marko Bakalič bought it. In the meantime, the villa becomes property of the association of farmers, merchants and industrialists. The sixth owner, buy who’s name it is still called was surveyor Paja Pin who bought it in 1928. The German occupiers moved out the Pin family and ever since it changed many “owners”.

– City Museum-
Museum of Destruction

In 1967, Villa becomes part of a nearby medical center as a Tuberculosis Clinic. By the end of the last century it was deserted for good, as a highway was build through a park that connected the house to the hospital. This is when the house got it’s new tenants– rats, homeless people, junkies, alcoholics, sects and God knows what else. Few years ago, the authorities locked it.

Enter here

I know this is trespassing, but I really had to go inside. My best birthday ever!

Before the lock down, certain “artists” held here an exhibition and wrote the instructions on using the house. They also drew some “art”. Those directions seemed quite cool to me at the time I was inside, but, now, knowing the sad history of the house, I can’t help but be angry.

This exhibition was a part of the project “Contrasts in Our Society” that begun in October 2004. Project leaders were Jelena Vukmanović and Éva Soltész. You two, shame on you! Pointing out to devastation by more devastation

It is so sad what will certain people do in order to get attention. The homeless people who burned the stairway were cold and in need, but they were not. Shame on you! Did I already say that?

“Dear visitors, please, do not hesitate to dispose of your bodily wastes or devastate the museum in any way, as that is this building’s purpose.”

“This museum is dedicated to all of them who made this city a place everyone wants to leave. To all of them who say our city is a – dead city.”

“Look —-> through the window.”

“During the summer of 2002, homeless people who found shelter in here, used the stairway as a heating fuel. The authorities moved them out and locked the house, only after the “tenants” removed the parquet also.”

Over the years, a myth was formed around the house and while I was googleing through the internet, I found so many contradictory facts that I realize, maybe, we’ll never now the whole truth. I did find an article by a guy who claimed he got his information from city authorities. But then again, I’ve seen to many episodes of the X-Files to easily believe everything they say :D Actually, I read another article form another guy, who claims his father worked at the clinic, and an elderly lady who remembers the house from it’s better days. When we got out on the street we asked two guys about the house and why it’s deserted. They said it’s because they used old fashion X-ray machines that the house is radioactive now (I can only imagine the looks on our faces when we heard that). Another version came from an old lady who said that the house came as a dowry to famous family Varadi and the reason it is deserted is due to problems with all the properties that were confiscated during the communist regime.

Well, nothing jumped on us at the attic. But it was spooky. There was a total dark, and the only light we had was from my camera’s flash, so try to imagine.

I kept thinking how that receptionist guy forgot to mention about the house

“Going down to the basement is not recommended —>”

We didn’t go down the basement. I admit, I was scared. We didn’t know anything about the house at the time and the sounds that were coming from everywhere were horror. What I know now is that there is a boiler room, and that during the years there could be found archives from the clinics. I am pretty sure that the creepy sounds we were hearing were coming from the basement, as we checked the whole rest of the house. I’m not sure if I’m happy or sad we didn’t go down.

Out of the house, and on the daylight, this house is hard not to notice. Deserted, devastated, with broken doors and windows. And it’s still beautiful. Even in a state like this.

An old postcard of Pin’s Villa. (Thanks Alex_ZR)

Maybe, one day, it will find it’s rightful owners. Maybe, they will restore it to it’s previous, glorious state. I really hope so.

I know I haven’t posted a recipe in a while, so this time, I will give you a cookie that might have been served at the house. This unusual recipe is from Pata’s cookbook (I wrote about it last year). It is very likely that the owners had a copy of it as it was trendy at the time it was first published.

Cigar Cookies
(recipe as written in Pata’s cookbook)

In a bowl mix 200 g sugar, add 200 g ground lady fingers biscuits, 150 g flour, a pinch of cinnamon, 3 eggs and knead everything well. Shape dough into cigar sized cylinders. With a pastry brush spread beaten egg over and then roll into a mixture of fine crystal sugar and cinnamon. Bake on low fire.

Note: The measurements were OK. I divided the dough into two batches and the one that baked perfectly was in a preheated oven on 180°C for 10 minutes.