Fantast castle – Dunđerski castle (May 2014) The castle is located in Backa, 15 km from Bečej. The Dundjerski family originates from Herzegovina (the village of Visnjica near Gacko). The first known ancestor of the family is the great-grandfather Avram. There are two stories how Avram got rich, the first is that he found a pot of gold and the second is that he saved the Turk that rewarded him.
Avram had three sons, the youngest was Gedeon (Geca) Dundjerski and had sons Lazar, Novak and Alexander. Alexander had a son, Bogdan Dundjersky (1862-1943), who was educated in Vienna where he learned German and graduated from the Agricultural School. He built on his property the magnificent castle Fantast, which was built in several stages and completed in 1925. The castle is built in different styles and next to the castle is the chapel of St. George.
Bogdan’s great friend was the famous Serbian painter Uros Predic, who created the iconostasis for the church but also helped Bogdan in other ways to arrange the property. Bogdan was a great horse fan and then had one of the largest stud farms in Austria-Hungary that numbered 1,400 horses. Fantast Castle is named after Bogdan’s favorite horse, which in 1932. won the title at the Belgrade Hippodrome. After the end of World War II, the castle became a “people” when it was completely plundered.
Otherwise, Lenka Dundjerski, for whom Laza Kostic wrote by many the most beautiful Serbian love poem (Santa Maria del Salute), besides several brothers, only called Bogdan a brother, but that was a wonderful story for next time. Visit of this beautiful palace can easily be organized in one day, so you can enjoy the beautiful setting that adorns Fantast Castle.
