Dracula’s Castle For Sale

All of these Beverly Hills and Palm Beach homes that have been listed in the 30-50 million dollar range have nothing on a good midieval property out of the heart of Transylvania. The home that inspired the story of Dracula is for sale for a cool 78 million dollars.

Got to love it.

The family that owns a Transylvanian castle famous for its connections to the 15th Century medieval ruler who inspired “Dracula” said Wednesday that it wants to sell the fortress to local authorities for $78 million.

The local council said it was interested in buying Bran Castle, perched high on a rock and surrounded by snowcapped mountains in southern Transylvania. Dominic Habsburg, the owner, insisted his family had honorable intentions for wanting to sell the castle.

We are trying to find the best way to preserve the castle in the interest of the family and the people of Bran,” Habsburg said in a statement.

The castle was returned to Habsburg, a New York architect, in May. It was confiscated by the communists from Habsburg’s mother, Princess Ileana, in 1948, the year the royals were forced to leave the country.

After the restitution, concerns were raised that the family could sell the castle to a hotel chain and that the site could end up being the centerpiece of a Dracula theme park that would blight the surrounding, pristine countryside some 105 miles north of Bucharest. via  the  Chicago Tribune.