Wenckheim Mansion, 19th century mansion in Gerla, Hungary.
Wenckheim Mansion is a largely single-storey romantic-style building with an irregular U-shaped plan and a tiled roof, standing in Gerla, 8 km northeast of Békéscsaba's centre. Its west wing holds the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, 13 m long and 6 m wide, with a 15 m tower, a tympanum above the roof and stained-glass windows. A palm house and a large English garden surround it.
Count Károly Wenckheim (1811–1891) commissioned architect Miklós Ybl to design the 37-room mansion, which was completed by 1860. After World War II an elementary school operated in it until moving to a new building in 1984; the mansion has stood empty since 1990. In 1876 a flood inundated the castle and spread through Wenckheim's salons. The municipality sold the estate in 2001 on condition of restoration, but the buyer failed and it returned to municipal ownership.
The chapel in the west wing is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception (Szeplőtelen Fogantatás); Capuchin monks first celebrated Mass there. It measures 13 m long and 6 m wide, its tower 15 m high, with stained-glass windows and a 40 cm bell in the open tower. The original painting and furnishings survive, though the colours have faded.
The mansion has stood empty since 1990 and is in a dilapidated state, so the interior cannot be visited. The chapel in the west wing, bought and renovated by Leonardo CAD Bt. in 2003, keeps its original painted decoration and furnishings, though the corridors leading to its vestibule are neglected. The building lies about eight kilometres northeast of central Békéscsaba, in the Gerla district.
The chapel in the west wing, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, measures 13 m long and 6 m wide, with a 15 m tower holding a 40 cm bell. Capuchin monks first celebrated Mass there. Leonardo CAD Bt. bought and restored the chapel and adjoining wing in 2003.
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