Eduard Ede Spitzer Špicer

At the 1885 birth of his daughter Flora, Eduard Spitzer (Špicer), kaufmann aus Teschen, Schlesien (Silesia), was living in Vienna II (Leopoldstadt), Rembrandtstraße 11.

Ede Špicer owned (was co-owner of / shareholder in) a cement factory in Beočin, Vojvodina (now in Serbia; on the Danube not far from Belgrade). The family built a castle in Beočin in 1892, now one of the oldest cultural monuments in Beočin and under the protection of state. Among not so many castles in Vojvodina, this one stands out, according to the opinion of professional public, as a unique example of secessionism, the then-prevailing style in European architecture. According to experts it belongs to ornate architecture, from which the famous fireplace, vitraz and ceramics must be pointed out. According to the decision of the Government of Serbia, the old castle in Beočin was made a cultural monument. The only thing that was renovated was the roof. Everything else is in bad condition. This building has always represented the attraction and the pride of Beočin. Today this is not the case. The older citizens of Beočin once called the entire complex “Špicer Garden”. There was a well-planned fenced park with the castle, where deer and peacocks would walk freely. (THE CASTLE OF SPITZER FAMILY – BEOČIN)

Same death? Images are not online:

• Last Name Spitzer First Name Eduard Code 3
• Wien Book
• Volume 1921 Date 1921 Number 828

Image of Spitzer mausoleum, X. KOZMA U. 6. THE NEIGHBOR OF JUSTICE (Budapest Jewish Cemeteries): Ede Spitzer, next to Redlich & Ohrenstein. from Budapest Tombs Photos of Imre Vizler in the Budapest Collection of the Budapest Szabó Ervin Library at FSZEK.hu

Advertisement as agent for Portland cement in Neue Freie Presse, Vienna,March 27, 1874, page 14, on behalf of the firm Ohrenstein Brothers.

From Magyar Bánya-Kalauz = Ungarisches Montan-Handbuch - 7. évf. = 7. Jahrgang (1910):

Tulajdonos: Beocsini Czementgyári Uniórészvénytársaság Budapesten; igazgatóság: beocsini Ohrenstein Henrik, alelnök ; Barcza Károly, szegedi Lukác s József, dr. Mandl Lipót, Spitzer Ede, igazgatósági tagok. Ügyvezető igazgatók : Breuer Lipót (Budapesten) és Rosenber g Ignácz (Beocsinban). Műszaki igazgató: Kauenschil d Albert (Beocsinban). 10 munkás.

Owner: Beocsini Czementgyár Union Corporation in Budapest; director: Beocsini Henrik Ohrenstein, vice-president; Barcza Károly, Szeged József Lukác, Dr Lipo Mandl, Ede Spitzer, Board members. Managing Directors: Breuer Lipót (Budapest) and Rosenberg Ignácz (Beocsin). Technical Director: Kauenschil d Albert (Beocsin). 10 workers.

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The Spitzer Castle has been the subject of architectural study: The Condition of Immovable Cultural Heritage outside the Urban Context in Vojvodina: the Case Study of the Spitzer Villa in Beočin. "In Vojvodina there is an entire series of buildings that belong to the representative examples of the cultural heritage created in 18th and 19th, as well as at the beginning of the 20th century, and yet they are completely neglected and largely excluded from modern living. These are castles, villas and summer houses built on the estates of large landowners during the times when Vojvodina belonged to the Habsburg Monarchy, and later Austria-Hungary. One of the partial causes for such condition is their relative physical removal from modern roads and urban environments, but also the prevailing disinterest of the community for their preservation.

After World War I, when Vojvodina became a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, agrarian reform was carried out in which the properties of many landowners were reduced, and their economic power declined. This resulted in a changing ownership of castles, summer houses and villas. After World War II, nationalisation was implemented to abolish private ownership of these buildings and make them state property. Some of the buildings were even demolished. The majority of the castles and summer houses located outside urban environments were left to the management of the newly established agricultural cooperatives, agrarian conglomerates, and social guardianship authorities. The destiny of the buildings after these changes was certainly not uniform. Some of them belonged to highly developed conglomerates that had the means for their preservation, while others were left to small scale cooperatives unable to finance even regular repairs for these buildings. The buildings located closer to urbanised environments, or in central areas of small settlements were re-purposed to have a cultural or educational function. After the wars of the 1990s, on the territory of former Yugoslavia, the situation became even worse. The villa is situated in a park between Beočin Village and the Municipalty of Beočin (Latitude: 45.203659, Longitude: 19.719902).

The complex in which the Spitzer Villa was erected comprised a spacious park with a fountain, two pools, a building for servants and the summer pavilion. What disrupted the unity of the complex was the iron structure of the marlstone conveyor, erected above the complex in the immediate vicinity of the villa, and still functional today. After the departure of the Spitzer family, at the onset of the WWII, the villa accommodated German military headquarters. After the war, the complex was nationalised, and given to the municipal administration of Beočin; its purpose has changed a number of times since. For periods of time, it served as natural spa and resort for the disabled war veterans named “Fruška Gora”, a primary school, library, community centre, radio station and finally, an exclusive restaurant “Stari Dvorac (Old Castle)” welcoming international hunt enthusiasts. After the Podunavlje company, which had leased the villa, was privatised, the building became empty and was left to decay (Radovanac, 2012).

The opulence of architectural details is completed with many decorative elements made of plaster and wrought iron. All these elements contribute to the daring composition and decoration, with different historical styles being boldly combined in an original way, while additional Secessionist style details serve as embellishment. The façade comprises a multitude of sculptures with different symbolic meanings, including the heads of an owl, eagle, dragon, ram, child faces and masks. The interior of the building is also skilfully and opulently decorated, especially the parlour area (Fig. 5). Here, the gallery fence contains elements, which are interwoven in a way almost Romanesque; oriental sinuous tympanums above the doors include a multitude of painted details, while the ornaments and stained glass are Secessionist in style. Furthermore, the hall includes a large decorative fireplace, made of Zsolnay ceramics.

[Now] rubble is scattered all around, including the remains of the bitumen seals used in the roof restoration [authorized by the state] of 2000. Great piles of rubble from the collapsed roof can also be found on the floor of the upstairs rooms. The rubble also contains parts of the ornaments broken during the removal of the roof.

The changes that have taken place in Serbia in the last two and a half decades are quite complex and have influenced all aspects of life. The transition from the socialist government to market economy entails a re-examination of the complex relations with the past, where the question of heritage holds a highly important role. The state still holds the primary role in state-owned heritage protection and management, yet when it comes to the majority of castles and summer houses, this role usually includes only identification and registering of immovable cultural heritage.

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The Špicer family lived in the castle until the beginning of World War II, then went to Germany, where their descendants still live. During the war the castle was the seat of the German command, and after the war it was a school and a library, a cultural center, a handball club and finally a restaurant. Then the castle is completely abandoned, as it is today. Špicer Castle is located in the city named Beočin located on the slopes of Fruska Gora. It was built in the late 19th century and is one of the rare examples of eclectic architecture of the period. (Ahnenforschung.net

The Spitzer / Špicer Castle was built in 1890-1892 for Eduard (Ede) Spitzer, a native of a German family, who was one of the main shareholders of the Beočin cement plant. It was designed in an eclectic style by the architect Imre Steindl, whose best-known work is the Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest; and it mixes the styles Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque, with elements from Art Nouveau. The interior of the castle is inspired by the Hungarian Secession. The most remarkable part of the building is the large central hall. Before the Second World War, the Spitzer family left Beočin. The castle was used for various purposes before being abandoned; it is in a bad state today. Castle Spitzer, Château Spitzer on Wikipedia.fr.

@razdanjivanje (Odlomak iz novog članka “Ko su fruškogorski duhovi” ) ***Zabranjena ljubav*** “...Ede Špicer je u ovom dvorcu živeo sa svojom ženom Klarom, sinom Jonasom i ćerkom Johanom. Oni koji su posluživali porodicu ostavili su priču ili legendu kroz koju provejava zla kob… Priča kaže da je tu često boravila Špicerova ćerka kada je provodila svoje dane van Beča i Pešte. Kažu da je šetajući po vrtu i bašti sa knjigom u ruci znala da se zadrži iza, gde je nekada bio mali letnjikovac i gde je buknula ljubav izmedju nje i konjušara. Ta se ljubav nije ostvarila jer su joj roditelji branili. Po nekim kazivanjima ona se zbog nesrećne ljubavi i ubila. I danas, više od 100 godina kasnije, kod nekih meštana i dalje strah postoji. Kažu meštani da su se na njegovom tavanu gnezdili golubovi u vreme kada je u dvorcu bila smeštena škola. Mnogi nisu smeli ni kročiti u taj golubarnik, ubeđeni da su stari tavani lavirinti misterija. Možda samo gvozdeni i betonski zmajevi.

An excerpt from the new article "Who are the Fruška Gora Spirits" -- Forbidden Love "... Ede Spicer lived in this mansion {the photo is of a grand room in the ruined Castle Špicer} with his wife Claar, son Jonas and daughter Johan. Those who served the family left a story or a legend through which the evil cobbler is performing ... The story says that Špicer's daughter often stayed there when she spent her days outside Vienna and Pest. They say that walking around the garden with a book in her hand she knew to stay behind, where there once was a little summer house and where the love between her and the horseman was fluttering. That love did not come true because her parents defended [protected] her. According to some [versions] she killed her[self] because of unhappy love. Even today, more than 100 years later, some residents still fear. The locals say that the pigeons were nesting on his attic at the time when the school was located in the castle. Many did not even want to go in, convinced that the old attics were the labyrinths of the mystery. Maybe only iron and concrete dragons.