The Bagolyvár (owl’s tower) is one of the few two-storey villas in Palić, because most of the local villas were built as single-storey buildings. It was built in parallel with the neighbouring villa Lujza in 1891, as part of Lajos Vermes’ sports complex, who was a prominent athlete and the founder of Olympics in Palić in 1880. On the plot owned by Vermes, which was obtained by filling up the shore west of the park, in 1891, Vermes built a sports complex with three representative objects, the first paved bike path in Hungary, pavilions, tribunes, restaurant and a temporary theatre. This area served for the preparations of the competitors and for organising competitions, with the possibility of accommodation and entertainment. The villas are built in the then fashionable Swiss style, with abundant use of wood and tiles, produced in the Zsolnay factory in Pécs. The visiting athletes were accommodated in Bagolyvár, therefore it can be considered for the first Olympic hotel in Europe, since it was built before the establishment of the modern Olympic Games. Today next to Bagolyvár there is a monument dedicated to Lajos Vermes.
(Olga K. Ninkov)
Bibliography:
Vujnović P. Gordana (2012): Građanski letnjikovci na Paliću od sredine 19. veka do Prvog svetskog rata – Polgári nyaralók Palicson a 19. század közepétől az első világháborúig. Zaštitar – Örökségvédelem, 2., Međuopštinski zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture–Községközi Műemlékvédelmi Intézet, Subotica, 110–131.