Anyone got $78 million to spare?
OK, I definitely know what I want for my bday... I just somehow need to raise $78 million. Anyone want to help me out and donate to my 'Buy a Castle' fund?
From News24.com
Dracula Castle for sale
Bucharest - The Transylvanian castle famous for its connection with the 15th century medieval ruler who inspired Dracula is being offered for sale for $78m, an attorney said.
The Habsburg family want to sell Bran Castle to the local council to ensure its future - but a government minister has criticised the price tag as "too expensive".
"We are trying to find the best way to preserve the castle in the interests of the family and the people of Bran," said the owner, Dominic Habsburg, in a statement made available exclusively to Associated Press.
The 14th century fortress is associated with Prince "Vlad the Impaler", whose cruelty inspired novelist Bram Stoker's creation, the vampire Count Dracula.
Legend has it that Vlad spent one night there.
It was returned to Habsburg, a New York architect, on May 26, decades after it was confiscated by the communists from Habsburg's mother, Princess Ileana, in 1948, the year the royals were forced to leave the country.
Dracula theme park
After their restitution, concerns were raised that the family might sell the castle to a hotel chain and that the castle could end up being the centrepiece of an Dracula theme park, blighting the landscape.
But, Habsburg is being forced to sell because of the cost of the castle's upkeep.
"A way of life cannot be returned and the restitution has come with financial sacrifice...
"We would like Castle Bran to remain a symbol of everything that is honourable and good in Romania," said the statement.
Lia Trandafir, an attorney for Habsburg, said the local authorities were interested in buying the castle.
"They'd like to see it coming back to the community and they consider it a central pillar of tourism in Brasov county," she said.
Aristotel Cancescu, head of the local city council, cancelled a trip to Vienna to open discussions about a loan to buy the castle.
'Too expensive'
However, culture minister Adrian Iorgulescu criticised the planned purchase of the castle, saying it is too expensive.
"I have nothing against the castle being bought by the city council if they are stupid enough to pay this money," he said.
He added that he believed the castle was worth a quarter of Habsburg's asking price.
The fortress, perched high on a rock and surrounded by snow-capped mountains in southern Transylvania, is one of Romania's top tourist attractions and is visited by 400 000 people each year.
In recent years, the castle - complete with occasional glimpses of bats floating around its ramparts in the twilight - has attracted movie makers as a backdrop for films about Dracula and other horror themes.
From News24.com
Dracula Castle for sale
Bucharest - The Transylvanian castle famous for its connection with the 15th century medieval ruler who inspired Dracula is being offered for sale for $78m, an attorney said.
The Habsburg family want to sell Bran Castle to the local council to ensure its future - but a government minister has criticised the price tag as "too expensive".
"We are trying to find the best way to preserve the castle in the interests of the family and the people of Bran," said the owner, Dominic Habsburg, in a statement made available exclusively to Associated Press.
The 14th century fortress is associated with Prince "Vlad the Impaler", whose cruelty inspired novelist Bram Stoker's creation, the vampire Count Dracula.
Legend has it that Vlad spent one night there.
It was returned to Habsburg, a New York architect, on May 26, decades after it was confiscated by the communists from Habsburg's mother, Princess Ileana, in 1948, the year the royals were forced to leave the country.
Dracula theme park
After their restitution, concerns were raised that the family might sell the castle to a hotel chain and that the castle could end up being the centrepiece of an Dracula theme park, blighting the landscape.
But, Habsburg is being forced to sell because of the cost of the castle's upkeep.
"A way of life cannot be returned and the restitution has come with financial sacrifice...
"We would like Castle Bran to remain a symbol of everything that is honourable and good in Romania," said the statement.
Lia Trandafir, an attorney for Habsburg, said the local authorities were interested in buying the castle.
"They'd like to see it coming back to the community and they consider it a central pillar of tourism in Brasov county," she said.
Aristotel Cancescu, head of the local city council, cancelled a trip to Vienna to open discussions about a loan to buy the castle.
'Too expensive'
However, culture minister Adrian Iorgulescu criticised the planned purchase of the castle, saying it is too expensive.
"I have nothing against the castle being bought by the city council if they are stupid enough to pay this money," he said.
He added that he believed the castle was worth a quarter of Habsburg's asking price.
The fortress, perched high on a rock and surrounded by snow-capped mountains in southern Transylvania, is one of Romania's top tourist attractions and is visited by 400 000 people each year.
In recent years, the castle - complete with occasional glimpses of bats floating around its ramparts in the twilight - has attracted movie makers as a backdrop for films about Dracula and other horror themes.
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