When you find yourself wandering through the rolling green hills of southern Hungary, keep an eye out for an imposing silhouette just on the fringe of Szabás. Looming with its dramatic dark exterior, the Fekete-kastély (Black Castle) stands like a silent narrator of the village’s most riveting stories—a place where fact and legend have danced for over a century. The Black Castle isn’t just another faded aristocratic mansion hidden away in the countryside; its very walls seem to breathe a complex history, beckoning those with a taste for architecture, myth, and mystery to step inside and see for themselves what truly sets it apart.
The man behind this evocative structure was Miklós Sárdi, an affluent local landowner who commissioned the castle in the late 1800s. With a distinct taste for the bold and unconventional, Sárdi opted for the deep, dark cladding that would give the castle its infamous nickname—Fekete, meaning “black” in Hungarian. At that time, it was highly unusual—even audacious—for an estate to break from the lighter palettes favored by the neighboring manors. The decision was not just aesthetic; some locals believe the dusky facade served to symbolize a tragic episode in Sárdi’s life, a visual marker for personal grief that similarly colored the stories woven into castle lore. Others suspect the darkness was simply a statement: an aristocrat’s flourish meant to set the house apart from any other in the region. Either way, the Black Castle quickly became the subject of local fascination, its shadowy presence a source of both pride and unease in the community.
One cannot wander through the labyrinthine halls and creaking stairwells without sensing the weight of history. During the castle’s heyday in the early 20th century, it was a hub for lavish gatherings: a place where the region’s gentry would trade whispers over crystal goblets and waltz across parquet floors. Look closely in the ballrooms, and you can still find the faded remnants of intricate wall stenciling and the original, much-admired cast iron fireplace—a masterpiece hand-forged by artisans from nearby Kaposvár. The castle’s most infamous chamber, though, is the secluded library. Rumor has it that Sárdi himself would retreat there during stormy nights, poring over books by candlelight, nursing his sorrow—and, perhaps, mapping out the estate’s next chapter. Even today, you might feel the tingle of these bygone days when you press your hand to a sun-warmed window ledge or trace your fingers along the grain of ancient wooden banisters.
But the story of the Black Castle isn’t frozen in amber. After World War II, the castle’s fate mirrored that of many Hungarian manor houses: seized, repurposed, and gradually surrendered to the ravages of time. It served alternately as a schoolhouse, a public meeting hall, and, for a short time, a refuge for displaced families. The patchwork history is visible in the faded paint of one wing and the modern wiring strung up in another. Though it never received the full restoration some might wish for, there’s something uniquely compelling in the way old and new coexist so candidly here. Restoration initiatives of recent decades have aimed to stabilize the structure and celebrate its distinctive past, lending a feeling that the castle lives on not just as a relic, but as a shared landmark in the life of Szabás.
What truly makes a visit to the Fekete-kastély memorable, though, is the convergence of natural and constructed beauty. The gardens, while more rustic than regal these days, still permit long, quiet walks beneath mature chestnut trees and along overgrown stone paths. Birdsong and the gentle rustle of wind through ivy-clad walls replace the fanfare of former galas. Occasionally, local guides share tales—some grounded in fact, others thriving on speculation—about hidden tunnels, tragic romances, and unexplained disappearances within these black walls. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, there’s no denying a feeling of something just out of sight, a story quietly waiting to be discovered.
For those willing to wander off the main tourist circuits and dive into the textured history of rural Hungary, the Black Castle in Szabás provides the perfect setting. It’s a place where time seems to shuffle back and forth across eras, where darkness lends not just a sense of mystery but a kind of beauty, too. So take the chance to explore the rooms, stroll the grounds, and see how the castle’s shadow sets the whole village humming with its legends. Every visit peels back the curtain just a bit—and who knows? Perhaps your footsteps through its halls will become the stuff of future stories.
