From the Wall Street Journal:
Castle, Sweet Castle
Built for German nobility, these homes offer promise of a fairy-tale life—but can cost a king's ransom
Natural, hand-cut stone construction, 14-foot vaulted ceilings, expansive gardens. And your very own drawbridge.HT and top pic: Gawker
It seems the thing of fairy tales—owning a private castle. And in Germany, there are plenty of them to be had. Germany's long history as a number of fractured principalities, each with its own noble residences, has left the country with more than 5,000 castles. About 20 to 40 of those come onto the market each year. At the same time, Germany has a relatively stable economy where real-estate values have continued to climb, making property a somewhat safe investment to foreigners across Europe and abroad.
But agents warn the purchase of a burg or schloss is not for the faint of heart—or the light of pocket.
"My main tip is you need a lot of money," says Bernd Neuhäuser, managing director of Vermittlung historischer Immobilien, which specializes in selling historical buildings. "A totally renovated castle is expensive, and is expensive to keep up. A new building could cost a lot less than the heating of an old castle."
A small castle with about 3,300 square feet of living space and adjoining land can cost anywhere from about $650,000 to $6.5 million, based on recent sales. A large, completely renovated castle can cost more than $26.1 million. Renovations and maintenance can add millions of dollars to the original price tag....MUCH MORE
Here's one of the properties on offer, Burg Kipfenberg, €5.7 million:
I don't know if the townsfolk are included in that price.
