Visiting a Romanian mausoleum that has been abandoned

admin | September 5, 2022 | ABANDONED | No Comments

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The Csavosi mausoleum church is a remarkable place that will leave you speechless. You can tell from the mausoleum’s extensive deterioration that its past was not particularly rosy.

The baron Gyula Csavosi constructed the mausoleum in 1860. Its design is an exact replica of the basilica in Esztergom, Hungary. A few years prior to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Csávosi family would pass away. When Josephina, the Baron’s wife, passed away and was interred in the crypt beneath the mausoleum in the spring of 1911, it all started. When Baron Gyula Csávossy passed away that same year in the fall, his final resting place was transformed into a crypt where other members of their family are also interred.

The baron’s descendants have sold their estates, and others have immigrated to Canada and never left. Unfortunately, administrative and barbarian actions destroyed his inheritance. The tombs of the noble family were profaned by the town’s first mayor, who gave the place its name after World War II, and all the items, even the low-value ones, were stolen. The mayor was apprehended and given a 2-year prison term.

Although the church-mausoleum is in an advanced condition of decay today, the bells still ring with nostalgia at 12 o’clock and during funerals in remembrance of its former glory.

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1 The birdhouse

Alongside the castle, the mausoleum was constructed in the same period. This structure appears to have been finished in 1908 because two Vienna-made bells bear this date.

Romania’s Banat area includes the settlement of Bobda, which is situated 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from Timisoara. The 13th century is when the village was first mentioned. After a conflict in 1695, Bobda was constructed, with dwellings surrounding the roadways and straight, perpendicular streets.

This village has had various owners over the years, but Baron Gyula Csávossy is the most well-known (1829-1911).

In the 19th century, the Baron and his family occupied the positions of prominence and riches in the Bobda village. The family had extensive land holdings, and farming was their primary source of revenue. Gyula moved to Bobda because his father pushed him to start the same line of work.

The Baron made the decision to start construction on the castle and separate mausoleum in the late1800s. The completion of the castle wasn’t achieved until 1889. The completed structure included 42 rooms and was encircled by green spaces. The Esztergom Basilica in Hungary served as the inspiration for its architectural style.

Munich is where the stained glass windows for the mausoleum were created. It appears that the castle’s interior used to be tastefully decorated with paintings, rugs, lace curtains, and Murano crystal chandeliers.

2 crossed alone

The Baron’s wife passed away in the spring of 1911 and was buried in a crypt beneath the mausoleum, where earlier generations of the Csávossy family had also been interred. The Baron himself passed away and joined her in the crypt that same fall.

As the Baron’s two sons, Joszef and Endre, were compelled to sell off more and more of their property after his death, the estate started to deteriorate. The two guys eventually decided to leave the area, selling everything to the locals, and go to Canada and Switzerland, respectively.

A local resident bought the castle in 1930. However, he was unable to pay back the loans he had taken out to pay for the acquisition, so the castle was destroyed and its stones were carried off to be used as building materials elsewhere.

The mausoleum was acquired by the Bobda village community and utilized as a place of worship for Roman Catholics.

Unfortunately, the local mayor destroyed the site in the 1950s by dismantling it in an effort to unearth the treasure. He ultimately served two years in prison for this crime.

There haven’t been any Roman Catholics residing in Bobda since the mausoleum’s final Roman Catholic ceremony in the 1980s.

The mausoleum has been damaged and vandalized since it was closed. The organ has been damaged, the lovely stained glass windows have been broken or stolen, and the dome is currently collapsing.

The worst part was that several youngsters broke into the crypt and played football with the Csánossy family’s remains (which were ultimately reburied somewhere else to prevent the recurrence of such a horrible event).

The district council president sought to conserve the mausoleum as a historical landmark in the early1990s.

However, attempts to find a solution were fruitless because neither state funding nor the legislation in place at the time allowed for the attraction of international investors.

When a strong storm hit in 1998, it exacerbated the building’s demise because water crept inside and undermined it. However, because the tomb was a property of the Roman Catholic Church, the Ministry of Culture was unable to provide funding for its renovation.

A review of the mausoleum was conducted in 2012 to determine the extent of the harm and the extent of the reconstruction required. It was anticipated that it would take up to 300,000 euros to rebuild the mausoleum.

Although this structure is regarded as the architectural highlight of the community, local officials have issued a warning that if immediate restoration steps are not taken, the structure would eventually need to be removed.

There is hope that the Church will donate the structure to the Ministry of Culture in order to raise money for the renovation of this wonderful location, but there are currently no solid signs that this will take place.

Even then, the tomb might not be saved because there are other priceless structures in the area that also require preservation or restoration.

3 the ritual