
VIENNA: For property buyers in the market for a stately pad and with a few million dollars to spare, a Swiss canton has announced plans to put a string of castles on the market. But politicians and heritage watchdogs fear the castles will end up in the hands of Russian oligarchs or Arab sheikhs who will damage the country’s cultural legacy by making tasteless “upgrades”.
They are also angry the properties will disappear into private hands and no longer be accessible to the public. The castles, some of them more than 1000 years old, are owned by the canton of Bern, which uses them to house museums, art collections and council offices. But the local authority has announced it will put 13 properties on the market because of their high maintenance costs. More cantons are expected to follow suit. Immobilie/Beitrag ansehen