Ernst August gives Marienburg for one euro | NDR.de – News – Lower Saxony

As of: 29.11.2018 17:14

The Marienburg Castle near Pattensen (Hannover area) is sold to the public sector for a symbolic amount of one euro. Liemak Immobilien GmbH, a subsidiary of the Klosterkammer Hannover, will take over from the Welfen summer residence, Culture Minister Björn Thümler (CDU) announced on Thursday. The monastery chamber is an authority of the state that claims to be self-financing and does not depend on the state budget. The castle, completed 151 years ago, requires renovations worth an estimated 27 million euros. The previous owner of the castle Ernst August Erbprinz of Hanover can not raise this amount. It has already reached its financial limits in recent years, reports NDR 1 Niedersachsen. The Taxpayers Association of Lower Saxony fears that citizens of the country incur millions of dollars.

Lower Saxony wants to buy the castle of Marienburg

// NDR News – 29.11.2018 16:00 clock

For the symbolic purchase price of one euro, Niedersachsen wants to take over the castle of Marienburg near Hanover. The former summer residence of the Welfs needs to be renovated.

Landesmuseum acquires parts of the inventory

Besides the castle, the Welfs also sell a hundred pieces of cultural and historical inventory worth two million euros, which are particularly valuable for the country. The Landesmuseum Hannover has to acquire them – with the support of foundations. Ernst August Erbprinz, of Hanover, donates other items worth around six million euros to a charitable arts foundation. He had taken over the castle 14 years ago from his eponymous father Ernst August of Hanover.

State and federal government support funding

Hans-Christian Biallas, president of the chamber of the abbey, said: "We like to help the country, but we do not bear any financial risk." The country spends more than 13.6 million euros on the works, once again, the same amount comes from the federal government. From 2020, the country will gradually increase the amount, said Thümler. He did not want to rule out that previously estimated renovation costs would increase in the future. It is unclear when work on the former Welfs summer residence can begin. According to Thümler, the coming year is a year of transition during which many discussions must take place. So that the castle does not slip, the slope on which it is located must be supported first.

The taxpayers' badociation fears tracking costs for citizens

According to Bernhard Zentgraf, president of the Lower Saxony Taxpayers' Association, it is unclear whether the 13.6 million available land will be enough to repair the castle, nor the current cost of masonry. In addition, the federation of taxpayers believes that the financial commitment of the Welf family should be greater than the value of six million euros, that the prince wants to contribute to an artistic foundation.

Criticism also from the opposition and parties of the SPD

The FDP faction criticizes Parliament for not participating in the process. Such an expensive and costly decision should not be made without the Budget Committee, said a spokeswoman for the FDP. It was "a huge affront to Parliament". Greens budget expert Stefan Wenzel also joined the criticism. "It's a total insolence," he says. Taxpayers could face huge follow-up costs, Wenzel warned. He spoke of a dishonest "strawberry trade" with the monastery chamber and asked for details about the property of the current owner. Criticism of the SPD also emanates from the faction. Some MEPs would have opposed the need to rearrange the cultural treasures of their constituencies, such as the NDR 1 Niedersachsen report.

Thümler: "Marienburg has national importance"

The Minister of Culture, Thümler, said that the aim was "to permanently preserve the Gesamtkunstwerk Schloss Marienburg as a cultural monument and a place of memory with a great significance for the public identity in Lower Saxony. Saxony". It is not the bankruptcy of the Hanover House that explains the country's commitment to Marienburg, but the national importance of the castle. The lord of the castle explained: "The jointly developed model permanently secures the Marienburg castle and its inventory". This had preoccupied his heart from the beginning. "That's why I am very grateful to the Government of Lower Saxony." He himself would continue to live with his family in Hanover, and Marienburg would still be in touch, the hereditary prince.

Change of operator also in the catering sector

The Welfs summer residence was completed in 1867. It was a birthday gift from King George V to his wife Marie. At this moment, the exhibition shows "200 years old Marie and Georg von Hannover". Each year, 200,000 German and foreign visitors come to Marienburg. At the end of the year, the former lord of the castle will also stop as an operator of gastronomy and events at the castle. Ernst August, hereditary prince of Hannover wants to indict the exploiting company to the two million euros from the product of works of art. The new operator will be Schloss Marienburg GmbH, which, according to the lord of the castle, will hire the 60 employees.