Controversy over Burg Rheinfels: Prince of Prussia loses trial | Culture | '
Who owns Castle Rheinfels today, the former family estate of the noble family Hohenzollern in the picturesque Loreley Valley? For Georg Friedrich Prince of Prussia, the matter is clear: at least not the current owner, the Rhineland-Palatinate town of St. Goar – but him. And so the great-great-grandson of the last German emperor challenges the property with a lawsuit against the city, the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the castle hotel located there.
In front of the district court Koblenz, the prince had to take a defeat. "The lawsuit is dismissed," said Judge Christian Stumm on Tuesday. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
Plaintiff continues to be open to amicable solution
The mayor of St. Goar, Horst Vogt, assumes that the prince will go to appeal and, if need be, to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. Otherwise, he would "not operate such an effort," Vogt said in a ‘ interview with reference to the 300-page complaint and the litigation.
Hohenzollern lawyer Markus Hennig told ‘ that they will now examine the reasons for the judgment and then make a recommendation to the client. However, since the matter is very complex, it could well be that another court would treat the case differently. Basically, you remain open for discussions and try to contribute to a friendly solution.
Gert Ripp, operator of the noble hotel in the middle of the castle, sees it similarly and emphasizes to ‘ that he still believes in an agreement with the prince and that he can not assume that this will go as far as Karlsruhe.
What is behind the recovery?
Since the 19th century Burg Rheinfels was in the possession of the house Hohenzollern. In 1924, the city of St. Goar became the owner, with the order not to sell the huge ruins from the Middle Ages. In 1998, she concluded a leasehold with the hotel next to the castle ruins for 99 years – with the possibility of an equally long extension. But claimant Prince of Prussia argues
this contract is equivalent to a sale – which is actually prohibited.
While Ripp is of the opinion that the prince's sole concern is his right, St. Goars mayor Vogt is convinced that "money" is the motivation behind his "foray". "Otherwise he would have come 90 years earlier with his demand" – and not only after the country, the city and the tenants had invested millions of euros in the castle.
Before much money was invested here, Rheinfels Castle was nothing more than a ruin (painting from 1923)
The verdict said that the ruins were after the downfall of the Empire as "bound assets" and thus not as a private property of the Hohenzollern family went to the then Prussian Crown administration. Only these were given a right of withdrawal in the transfer of Rheinfels castle to the city of St. Goar in case of violations of the monument protection or a sale to preserve the ruins as a cultural monument. Thus, the castle would not have fallen back into the hands of the Hohenzollern family, but at best into the property of the Prussian state. His legal successor in this case is the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
As long as it is unclear how it continues with the castle, tenant Ripp and mayor Vogt have put further investments in the controversial castle on hold for the time being. Georg Friedrich Prince of Prussia and his lawyers now have one month to appeal.
ليست هناك تعليقات