The government of Thuringia, a state in east-central Germany, has taken the unprecedented step of using a heritage preservation law to expropriate Reinhardsbrunn Castle from its Russian owner to save the centuries-old edifice from falling into disrepair. Thuringia Premier Bodo Ramelow praised the move as "exemplary."
The neo-Gothic castle was established in its current form in the mid-19th century by Duke Ernest I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the father of Prince Albert of the United Kingdom, who was the husband of Queen Victoria. But its origins hark back nearly one thousand years: it was first established as a monastery in 1085 under papal protection. Over the next nine hundred years it saw many transformations, serving as an abbey, a dynastic burial ground and a seat of local government. After World War II, the Soviet Red Army used it as a hospital and it was then turned into a hotel during the German Democratic Republic (GDR). After German reunification in 1990, the edifice was bought and sold by various travel companies and hotel businesses.
A small Weimar construction company called BOB Consult GmbH purchased the castle for €25,000 ($29,000) in 2006. Two years later, the company – along with the castle – was acquired by Russian investors with plans to transform the building into a luxury hotel.
But these plans never materialized. In 2009, Igor Chartshenko, owner of a Russian construction company, bought BOB Consult, which at the time still owned Reinhardsbrunn Castle, for €12 million ($14 million). But Thuringia's authorities suspected the investment was made to launder money. Indeed, Russia's commercial register showed that in 2008 Chartshenko's company had posted zero revenue.
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Germany's 10 most eye-catching castles
Marksburg Castle
Marksburg Castle high above the town of Braubach on the Rhine River is believed to date back to the early 12th century - and has remained intact to this very day. It's the only castle built on a hill along the Middle Rhine Valley that was never destroyed. Since 2002, the Upper Middle Rhine Valley is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On average, you'll see a castle every 2.5 kilometers.
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Germany's 10 most eye-catching castles
Wartburg
It's arguably Germany's most important castle. Built around 1067 above the central German town of Eisenach, Wartburg provided sanctuary to a fleeing Martin Luther in 1521-22. Here, he translated the New Testament into German. In 1206 it featured the legendary minstrel singing contest portrayed in Richard Wagner's opera "Tannhäuser." Wartburg has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.
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Germany's 10 most eye-catching castles
Nuremberg Castle
In medieval times, Nuremberg Castle was a prominent imperial palace. Emperors and Kings of the Holy Roman Empire resided here over the centuries. Demolished in World War II, the castle was rebuilt true to its historic architecture.
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Germany's 10 most eye-catching castles
Eltz Castle
Eltz Castle featured prominently on the back of Germany's 500 Deutsche Mark note, making it one of the country's best known castles. Built in the early 12th century in a spectacular location at the top of a 70-meter (230-foot) rock spur in the hills above the Moselle River, Eltz Castle today is a tourist magnet.
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Germany's 10 most eye-catching castles
Burghausen Castle
Perched above the town of Burghausen in Upper Bavaria, it is the longest castle complex in the world, at least according to the Guinness Book of Records: it measures 1051 meters. The castle was built before 1025 and served as a residence to the Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty.
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Germany's 10 most eye-catching castles
Rheinstein Castle
First mentioned in 1323, Rheinstein Castle is also situated in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. In 1823, builder and architect Karl Friedrich urged Prince Friedrich of Prussia to buy the castle that had fallen into disrepair in the late 16th century. In the Romantic period, Rheinstein Castle was the first Rhine River castle to be reconstructed.
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Germany's 10 most eye-catching castles
Cochem Castle
It's the largest castle built on a hill along the Moselle River and is a prominent landmark for the town of Cochem. Cochem Castle was presumably built around the year 1100 and destroyed in the 17th century. Berlin entrepreneur Louis Ravené bought it for 300 gold marks and rebuilt the castle in neo-Gothic style around 1877, according to the romantic notions of a knights' castle.
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Germany's 10 most eye-catching castles
Altena Castle
In 1914, teacher Richard Schirrmann opened the world's first youth hostel here. Altena Castle in North Rhine-Westphalia is over 800 years old. After falling into disrepair over the centuries, its reconstruction was completed in 1918.
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Germany's 10 most eye-catching castles
Satzvey Castle
One of the best-preserved German castles with a moat can also be found in North Rhine-Westphalia. Called the Satzvey Castle, it dates back to the 12th century. Daunting moats were dug to keep hostile enemies at bay. In flat regions, they were an alternative to perching the castle on a rocky cliff or hill.
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Germany's 10 most eye-catching castles
Hohenzollern Castle
The spectacular appearance of Hohenzollern Castle in this photo is due to the effects of thermal inversion. The structure lies atop the 855-meter mountain of the same name in Baden-Württemberg. In 1850, Prussian rulers had the one-time residence of their ancestors rebuilt in its current, idealized form. Rulers of the German Empire were drawn from the Hohenzollern dynasty from 1871 to 1918.
Author: Christian Hoffmann (db)
Complex Russian ties
So far, so suspicious. But where the money was sourced from also raised eyebrows. Chartshenko secured the huge loan in the name of BOB Consult GmbH itself from an offshore company in Belize named Albany Property S.A., which was under the ownership of the Ostriyagin family. At the time, incidentally, a member of that family, Anatoly Ostriyagin, served in the Russian Duma under Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party.
Ostriyagin hails from the Yamal peninsula in northern Siberia, a region rich in oil and gas, and has fostered close ties with Russia's political class. One of Ostriyagin's long-term aides in Yamal's local government was recently made a national minister. Ostriyagin's children, too, have also maintained good business relations with Chartshenko.
So the fact that Chartshenko was already able to take out the loan in the name of BOB Consult and use it to pay for the company and the castle indicates just how murky the deal must have been.
German authorities told DW that both the buyer and seller of the site were investigated for money laundering but that the case was shelved. There was no cooperation with Russian authorities on the investigation, the German state prosecutor added.
After decades of neglect, the once-magnificent Schloss Reinhardsbrunn was in need of work both inside...
...and outside
Offered for one symbolic euro
Even though large sums of money were transferred from one account to another, Reinhardsbrunn Castle remained in disrepair. Finally, state government authorities had enough and demanded that BOB Consult GmbH either live up to its responsibility and refurbish the site or let someone else take control. BOB Consult's new head, Konstantin Ostriyagin – Anatoly's son – then offered to sell the castle for one symbolic euro to the state of Thuringia.
But the offer came with a catch: the castle was tied to €9 million mortgage lien, for which the state would have had to foot the bill. Previously, a state court had already found that Chartshenko had unjustly registered the lien, fueling suspicions of fraud and embezzlement. The Ostriyagin family, meanwhile, apparently knew nothing of Konstantin Ostriyagin's scheme. An investigation into the case has now been put on hold on procedural grounds.
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Expensive renovation needed
"The Thuringian state would have only purchased Reinhardsbrunn Castle for €1 without the encumbrance, which the owner refused," the State Chancellery told DW. The state is apparently off the hook for the purported lien, and now free to decide the castle's fate. Which is good news for the German state, says Thuringian Premier Bodo Ramelow. He is elated to see the unique historical and cultural site finally in good hands.
But much work still lies ahead. Refurbishing the edifice will cost millions of euros. The state has already earmarked €1.9 million for work on the castle in the 2018-19 budget. But experts estimate that a total of €30 to €40 million will be needed to fully restore Reinhardsbrunn Castle to its former glory. The state government plans to sell the site to another investor, and has said it may subsidize its refurbishment.
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10 reasons to love Thuringia
Erfurt
Anyone who goes to Thuringia should visit Erfurt. One special attraction in the Thuringian state capital is the Krämerbrücke, Europe's longest bridge completely covered with dwellings. What else is there to see in Erfurt? Loads! The medieval town center, St Mary's Cathedral and Europe's oldest preserved synagogue, to name but a few.
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10 reasons to love Thuringia
Hainich National Park
Thanks to its ancient beech forest, Hainich National Park is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The canopy walkway allows visitors to enjoy the otherwise inaccessible parts of the park. It leads visitors through the treetops at a height of 24 meters (78 feet). Some fortunate visitors get to see bats, woodpeckers or other animal species that live in the primeval forest.
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10 reasons to love Thuringia
Goethe
In this house one of Germany's most famous poets worked on masterpieces like the novel "Elective Affinities" or the drama "Faust". In Weimar you can tour the house where Johann Wolfgang von Goethe lived for 50 years, until his death in 1832. He shared the house with his lover, who later became his wife - Christiane Vulpius - and their son August.
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10 reasons to love Thuringia
Schiller
You can also tour Friedrich Schiller's house in Weimar. The poet and his family lived here for three years. He regularly met with Goethe until he died in 1805, at the early age of just 45. Those eager to learn more about these world-famous authors can read many of their personal letters at the Goethe and Schiller archive in Weimar.
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10 reasons to love Thuringia
Bauhaus
1920s Weimar was the birthplace of Bauhaus - a new approach to design and architecture. Founded by Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus art school was one of the most influential in shaping the 20th century. Architecture and design was reinvented by artists from all over the world. The Bauhaus-Museum in Weimar offers in insight into their work.
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10 reasons to love Thuringia
The Thuringian grilled Bratwurst
You can find this specialty anywhere in Thuringia: the Thuringian grilled Bratwurst. It can only be called this if it was actually was made in Thuringia. For a long time over half the ingredients - pork, salt, pepper, Marjoram, caraway seeds and garlic- had to be produced in Thuringia. The sausage is eaten with a white bread roll, usually with mustard - Thuringian mustard of course!
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10 reasons to love Thuringia
Wartburg Castle
In 1521, Martin Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into German in just eleven weeks while at Wartburg Castle, where he was in hiding. As a seminal figure of what became the Protestant Reformation, he was banished and declared an outlaw. 2017 will mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation - a jubilee that will also be celebrated in style at Wartburg Castle.
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10 reasons to love Thuringia
Bach
Enjoy Bach's music on your own or with others at the hourly small concert performances: at the Bach house in Eisenach both are possible. Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685, where he lived for ten years. You can also enjoy the world-famous composer's music at various locations in Thuringia during the annual Bach Weeks, Thuringia's biggest classical music festival.
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10 reasons to love Thuringia
The Thuringian Forest
Hiking, rambling and walking - you can do all that in the Thuringian Forest. Germany's most popular hilltop hiking route, the Rennsteig, leads up along the mountain ridges of the Thuringian Forest to a lofty 1,000 meters (3280 ft.). And the Rennsteig path itself is long: most hikers spread the 170 kilometers (106 miles) over six stages.
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10 reasons to love Thuringia
Playing cards
The Thuringians also invented a popular German card game. The card game Skat was created in Altenburg in 1813, based on both the three player card game Tarok, also known as Tarot, and the four-player card game, Sheepshead. Altenburg is also where the oldest preserved playing card was produced in 1509. Cards are still made and sold in here - the perfect souvenir to take home from Thuringia.
Author: Lina Elter
