The Bran Deal

The requisition of the Bran Castle by Dominique of Habsburg and his brothers caused a lot of fuss among the Brasov county authorities, taking into account the huge sum requested by the owner: 60 million euros.

The request is based on an offer made by Roman Abramovici, the owner of Chelsea Football Club, who would like to buy the castle. Even though the Romanian authorities seemed to have reached an agreement with the Habsburgs for a lot lower price, 25 million euros, refusal and the keeping of the museum status for at least 3 years, based on an administration contract signed by the Minister of Culture Adrian Iorgulescu, Dominique of Habsburg changed his mind after seeing the offers on the international real estate market.

BRASOV WANTS THE CASTLE. The Brasov County Council decided to identify the financial resources together with the Minister of Culture in order to buy back the Bran Castle, seen as the main touristy monument in the Brasov County. Adrian Maxim, the member of the County Council who takes care of the Bran Castle issue, stated: "This historical and touristy monument is essential for the Brasov County as well as for the Bran area. The citizens in there made requests to the Bran Local Council regarding the keeping of the castle. The entire touristy area near Bran and Moeciu developed around the famous castle that seems to have been the home of Vlad Tepes. The County Council has decided to buy back the castle together with the Minister of Culture, after the discussions in Austria at the end of the month between Aristotel Cancescu and the Habsburgs. It would be fair for the owners to decrease the requested value by the costs for the renovations and consolidations made at the rock the castle is built on, on the North side. In 1948, right before the nationalization, these cracks were about to cause the fall of the Bran Castle."

INTERNATIONAL LEASING. After yesterday’s discussion between the chief of the Brasov County Council, Aristotel Cancescu, and the Minister of Culture, Adrian Iorgulescu, Cancescu stated: "The County Council doesn’t want to lose the Bran Castle, because this is an image of the entire county and country outside its borders. The tourism in Brasov would have a lot to lose from this. We can pay 2.7 millions in the first two years, and the rest will be paid in the following 10 years, with the help of a leasing contract between the County Council and a bank in Vienna. However, Dominique of Habsburg will get all the money from the bank, 60 millions that is. One can obtain a lot from the touristy exploitation of the Castle", Cancescu states. Moreover, he adds he has reached an agreement with the lawyers of the Habsburgs. "I informed the Rubin Meyer Doru & Trandafir law firm, the legal representative of the owners, that they were to receive a copy of the County Council decision today". Aristotel Cancescu said that all the agreements with the owners will be met: "We don’t want to lose the castle and it would be ideal for the Ministry to contribute financially". The discussions until now say the Ministry could give up on the refusal for the purchase of the Bran Castle, in the favor of the Brasov County Council, which is also in accordance to the desire of the owners’ lawyers, since the sale would be made through a simple contract with the County Council.

SOLICITATION. The Brasov GRP (the Great Romania Party) Senator, Nicolae Iorga, made fierce statements regarding the request of the Habsburgs: "It isn’t right to ask for so much money for a castle that has been donated to you by Romania. If Dominique of Habsburg says he is the descendant of the ones that received the Bran Castle as a donation, we are the descendants of the ones that made the donation and we have the same juridical status. Given this situation, tomorrow, I will ask the Romanian PM to establish an emergency decree to annul the donation, based on the ingratitude principle. The legal terms for the donations and their recall are in the Civil Code, laws that are valid since 1920, when the donation has been made. The Bran Castle belongs to the Romanians", the Senator says.

REACTION. The Brasov City Council doesn’t have the right to buy the Bran Castle. The Minster of Culture, Adrian Iorgulescu, stated yesterday that Romania has the refusal for the purchase of the Bran Castle, so the descendants of Princess Ileana have to talk to the Ministry of Culture first. "Such an official offer does not exist. My opinion is that we have to deal with an exploration of the market. The Brasov City Council can’t take any step forwards until the Ministry of Culture agrees with it", Iorgulescu stated. The Minister of Culture met Aristotel Cancescu, during the Permanent Delegation of NLP and discussed about this issue. Iorgulescu, the Minister of Culture, is to think about the refusal, but he had advised Cancescu to give up on the leasing contract for the purchase of the castle, at least for the moment.