  We present a photometric study of the neglected open cluster Berkeley 53. We
derived its fundamental parameters, such as the age, the interstellar
reddening, and the distance from the Sun, based on BV photometry combined with
near-infrared JHK data. The structure and the mass function of the cluster were
also studied and the total number of members and the total mass were estimated.
The cluster was found to be a rich and massive stellar system, located in the
Perseus Arm of the Milky Way, 3.1+/-0.1 kpc from the Sun. Its age exceeds 1 Gy
but it seems to be very young in the context of its dynamical evolution. The
analysis of the two-color diagrams and color-magnitude diagrams indicates that
the cluster is significantly reddened. However, both methods resulted in
different values of E(B-V), i.e. 1.21+/-0.04 and 1.52+/-0.01, respectively.
This discrepancy suggests the presence of an abnormal interstellar extinction
law toward the cluster.
