Heir puts 'Dracula's Castle' for sale

By ALEXANDRU ALEXE, Associated Press WriterMon Jul 2, 2:18 PM ET

A Habsburg heir is hoping someone will take a bite of his offer Monday to sell "Dracula's Castle" in Transylvania.

The medieval 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 the ruthless Vlad — who earned his nickname because of the way he tortured his enemies — spent one night in the 1400s at the castle.

The Habsburgs formally put the Bran Castle on the market Monday, a U.S.-based investment company said. No selling price was announced.

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, New York architect Archduke Dominic Habsburg. He pledged to keep it open as a museum until 2009.

Habsburg, 69, 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."

He predicted the castle would sell for more than $135 million but 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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/a...a_s_castle

There is no way in hell I would live in "Vlad The Impaler"'s house.

Imago said:

You could host some bad ass Halloween parties there though.

AnckSuNamun said:

And that was enough to earn it the title of "Dracula's castle"?
I dare not even think about all the hostels that will eventually earn big bucks off my name if I ever happen to torture a few thousand people...

retina said:

valid point

I'm in

I have 100$ towards it

Mach said:

Girl, you of all folks can feel the bad vibes of a place.

I mean, have you been in P&R? evil.

Imago said:

Dude one of my shamanic house blessing/cleansing rituals and BAM we have a killer energetically excellent place to play

so fork over your 100$

Mach said:

Holy shit, I've been wasting my time on all this Fen Shui bullshit.

Imago said:

Anxiety said:

If you think about it, George Bush is going to get his own library.

AnckSuNamun said:

Brassó.

Imago said:

you did not just use fen shui and bullshit in the same sentence

we can do both ( and I do ) in our castle of LOVE

so cough up your 100$ now mister

Mach said:

Feng Shui fixed my insomnia so I know it works to some extent.
Also, my penis grew by 6 inches when I rearranged my desk.


Something tells me you want some money

Imago said:

I'll give you the 100$ instead




seriously though ... major changes happened when i applied fen shui in the master bedroom i am working through other rooms in the house as well

Anxiety said:

As much as I would love to own Dracula's castle... $80-$135 million?

No fangs!

Imago said:

Why not? It would be fun.

I've got $100 bucks to throw in the pot. Come on guys we need that castle!

Sweeny79 said:

Then we need all the guests online to sign up and contribute.

Does Anne Rice know, I think she might want to jump on this

statuesqque said:

Anne Rice has become a staunch Catholic in recent years and says she will never again write about vampires, et al., but now will write "only about the Lord".

WillyWonka said:

what!!! I completely missed that bit of news...somethinging happen

Anxiety said:

Oh my god....I totally thought about that

statuesqque said:

The death of her husband, combined with her own series of serious health problems, had a profound effect on her.

statuesqque said:

Yeah....a lot of fans were pissed.

AnckSuNamun said:

You can say that again. Did you witness any the carnage on Amazon.com a few years back when Anne herself finally responded to the, erm..less-than-positive...reviews for Blood Canticle?

PRINCE.ORG INVASION - TRANSYLVANIA

That would be the shiz!!!!! Let's start planning people. I say 2009.

Where's Muse!????


M
[Edited 7/3/07 14:31pm]

Puhlease, this castle has been for sale like forever. It's in ruins, too, not anything like it looks in that pic.