Castelul reginei Elisabeta din Banloc

Let's begin with a beautiful story from the times when, in the centre of the Timiș commune Banloc, you could see a magnificent castle, in the middle of a park stretching over an area of ten hectares, with wide, perfectly designed alleys, an arboretum of rare and exotic species and elegant statues. Today, the impressive historic monument, a symbol of the locality, can only bear witness to a former glory or occasionally host cultural events.

BRIEF HISTORY:

The castle was built in 1750, on a site documented on 13 May 1400, under the name Byallak, 'the place of the buffalo'. During the Ottoman domination, between 1522-1717, it was the summer residence of the pasha, and later the land was given by Maria Theresa to the Croatian ban Drašković in exchange for other territories. In 1750, the building works of the current castle began, which, in 1783, came to belong to the Hungarian noble family Karácsonyi. The last count Karácsonyi-Keglevich Imre sold, in 1935, what remained of the estate, including the castle and the park, to Queen Elisabeth of Greece, sister of King Carol II of Romania. Once under her ownership, the complex was again renovated for what proved to be its last period of glory. With an inclination towards art and also towards horse riding, Elisabeth spent a lot of time in the Banat lands, painting and riding along the alleys of the park. In 1949, after the queen left, the statues in the park were vandalised, and the archive and library were burned. Between 1950-1958, the castle was bought by two other owners, and then successively transformed into a retirement home and an orphanage. From 1983 it became a school for grades I-X. Today it is leased by the Banat Metropolis.

THE ROUTE:

We will meet at 9:00 in Steaua Park on Calea Șagului (near the bridge) and at 9:15 we will leave for Banloc. We will pass through Chișoda, the former Military Unit, Șag, Timiș dam, Parța, Petroman, Ciacova, Ghilad, Ofsenița, Banloc, Dolaț, Ghilad and back.

The tour will be on asphalt, but also on macadam and dirt roads. The length of the route is 98 km, measured from Steaua park and back.

The difficulty level is medium. Bikes suitable for this type of tour are off-road bikes.

Bring equipment for sunny weather, helmet, food, water, rear lights, headlights, spare tubes, patches and last but not least, enthusiasm for pedalling.

As main regrouping and hydration points we have established the following:

1. Profi Loco Steaua park,
2. Petroman Terrace,
3. Turkish Tower from Ciacova,
4. Park of the naive painter Viorel Cristea (Ghilad),
5. Banloc Castle,
6. Profi Banloc,
7. Dolaț 😎 Park of the naive painter Viorel Cristea,
8. Petroman Terrace,
9. Steaua Park.

Have a great time!