Dracula's Castle

[Vlad]

BUCHAREST -- Dracula's castle may change hands again after the U.S.-based owner, a descendant of the Romanian royal family, offered to sell the 800-year-old Transylvanian fortress to the local government. Brasov County Council received the proposal this week, spokeswoman Mihaela Chicomban said Thursday. The building was returned by Romanian authorities to Dominic von Habsburg in May after the government nationalized property, including royal residences, 58 years ago. The castle was built in 1212 by Teutonic knights.

Dominic of Habsburg wants to sell the Bran Castle to the Brasov County Council for more than EUR 25 M, and the law firm which represents his interests sent last Friday a letter in this matter to the county institution.

“We have submitted on Friday a letter by which we showed our intention to discuss a possible sale of the Bran Castle to the Brasov County Council, yet no talks was held so far. We made no other sale offer and we received no offer in this affair.

The Castle was not put up for sale, as people erroneously said, we only sent an intention letter,” stated for Mediafax attorney Corin Trandafir, who represents the interests of the Habsburgs in Romania.

Government may get a stake in Dracula's castle

Dracula's castle may change hands again after the U.S.-based owner, a descendant of the Romanian royal family, offered to sell the 800-year-old Transylvanian fortress to the local government.
Brasov County Council received the proposal this week, spokeswoman Mihaela Chicomban said Thursday. ''I don't think the owners have taken the offer to sell the castle to the real estate market worldwide,'' she said.
The building was returned by Romanian authorities to Dominic von Habsburg in May after the government nationalized property, including royal residences, 58 years ago.
Built in 1212 by Teutonic knights, the castle was briefly used two centuries later by Romanian ruler Vlad the Impaler, who inspired Bram Stoker's Count Dracula legend.


NOT BAD....huh??

[Shish-kabob-Forrest]

Call me a nutcase but it actually looks like a nice place to live. Wouldn't it be nice to be sitting on a couch in the middle of the main hall in your bathrobe reading the paper?
I bet it'll fetch a fairly reasonable price to. Well, I wouldn't live there anyway. Not because of what it is, age or location but because if I ever did live their, people would never leave me alone. I would be known worldwide as the nutcase living in Dracula’s castle and their would be a paparazzi on every tree branch and behind every bush and long lines of tourists at my door every hour of the day and night.
In any case, if I ever do move to Transylvania (which is not out of the question) you can bet on me being out on some purchased prairie land with a large pile of bricks and cement.

[Vlad]

BUCHAREST, Romania - The Habsburg family said Wednesday that it wanted to sell a Transylvanian castle famous for its connections to the 15th century medieval ruler who inspired "Dracula" for 60 million euros, or $78 million, to the local authorities, an attorney said.

Not too bad.

Poor Habsburgs, got it made.

[Shish-kabob-Forrest]

I did some work on a house that was about the size of Bran Castle and it was selling for only $5 Million. I'll go with the house. I am sure Bran Castle has stronger walls against cannon balls but neither will stand up to a Tomahawk Missial so it's not like there is any truley valuable strength difference which basically means the remaining $73 Million is all antuquety and what else comes with it that ryhms with antiquity? PAPARAZZI!! If sitting around in your bath robe in the place known as "Dracula's Castle" won't attract those guys, I don't know what will.

[webmaster]

By Alexandru Alexe
ASSOCIATED PRESS

12:23 p.m. July 2, 2007

BUCHAREST, Romania – An heir of Romania's former royal family put “Dracula's Castle” in Transylvania up for sale Monday, hoping to secure a buyer who will respect “the property and its history,” a U.S.-based investment company said.
The Bran Castle, perched on a cliff near Brasov in mountainous central Romania, is a top tourist attraction because of its ties to Prince Vlad the Impaler, the warlord whose cruelty inspired Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, “Dracula.”

Legend has it that Vlad, who earned his nickname because of the way he tortured his enemies, spent one night in the 1400s at the castle.
Bran Castle was built in the 14th century to serve as a fortress to protect against the invading Ottoman Turks. The royal family moved into the castle in the 1920s, living there until the communist regime confiscated it from Princess Ileana in 1948.

After being restored in the late 1980s and following the end of communist rule in Romania, it gained popularity as a tourist attraction known as “Dracula's Castle.”

In May 2006, the castle was returned to Princess Ileana's son, Archduke Dominic Habsburg.

Habsburg, a 69-year-old New York architect, pledged to keep it open as a museum until 2009 and offered to sell the castle last year to local authorities for $80 million, but the offer was rejected.

On Monday, he put the castle up for sale “to the right purchaser under the right circumstances,” said Michael Gardner, chief executive of Baytree Capital, the company representing Habsburg. “The Habsburgs are not in the business of managing a museum.”

No price was announced, though Gardner predicted the castle would sell for more than $135 million. He added that Habsburg will only sell it to a buyer “who will treat the property and its history with appropriate respect.”

Habsburg said in a statement: “Aside from the castle's connection to one of the most famous novels ever written, Bran Castle is steeped in critical events of European history dating from the 14th century to the present.”

According to a contract signed when the castle was returned, the government pays rent to Habsburg to run the castle as a museum for three years, charging admission. After 2009, Habsburg will have full control of the castle, Gardner said.

The government has priority as a buyer if it can match the best offer for the castle, he said.

Opposition lawmakers have claimed the government's decision to return the castle to Habsburg was illegal because of procedural errors.

In recent years, the castle – complete with occasional glimpses of bats flying around its ramparts at twilight – has attracted filmmakers looking for a dramatic backdrop for films about Dracula and other horror movies.

Some 450,000 people visit the castle every year, Gardner said.

Excerpt from:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070702-1223-draculascastle.html