Kastel Castle

The Kastel Castle is situated about 60 km north from Belgrade and only 7 km away from Zrenjanin, in Ecka village. It was built in the English style, between 1816 and 1820. Squire Luka Lazar bought the then-deserted estate Ecka in 1781 and there built a church and founded the settlement for his workers. Kastel Castle was erected at the beginning of XIX century by Luka's son, Lazar Agoston and he is the one credited the most for its opening. Often mentioned fact is that the famous Hungarian violinist Franz Liszt, played at the official opening ceremony, on August 28, 1820 (when he was only 9 years old).

For many years, Kastel was a centre of hunters’ gatherings, with people from both Serbia and abroad. Austro-hungarian crown prince Franz Ferdinand and Serbian crown prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic also used to visit and stay at the castle. World War II and war destruction did not spare Kastel and owners left it for good and went to the USA, so the castle ended up as state property. Luckily, since 1990s, the Kastel has been under protection of Institute for Cultural Monuments, so it did not have to suffer the same fate as some of the previous castles.

The building is a modest single storey building, located in a very large, cultivated park. Nearby is the old-fashioned water tower that looks like a fortress. 

After extensive renovations, the castle Kastel was mostly restored and converted into a hotel. It has 38 rooms and 7 suites, which are a mixture of modern and medieval style. In former ballroom that was turned into a restaurant, guests can enjoy flavours of both Serbian and international cuisine and sounds of wonderful music. The castle represents a successful example of revitalized cultural monument (it was declared a cultural monument in 2001). Since 2004, it has been in private property.