Unobstructed views of the Baltic Sea, a quiet location and a large plot of land: these features alone cost a lot of money on the German real estate market. But you should plan a little more for the Alexandria Cottage that has just come onto the market. The purchase price alone is already 40 million euros. This is probably one of the most expensive residential buildings currently on offer.
On paper, the villa actually sounds mighty impressive. The 18 rooms offer an incredible 1,449 square meters of living space. The domicile stands in its own park, which extends almost half a hectare. And all of this in a prime location: The villa is located in a remote corner of the spa town of Heiligendamm, directly on the Baltic Sea. “The extremely harmonious ensemble, with its interplay of architecture and nature, is a true and almost legendary work of art,” enthuses the exposé from the responsible brokerage firm, Engel and Völkers.
The big story of the magnificent building, which is not coincidentally reminiscent of a small palace, is also told there. In 1841 it was built as a seaside resort on behalf of Grand Duke Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It was a gift to his wife Alexandrine of Prussia, whose name it also bears. In 1911 it was modernized again, preserving the style of the old building. Now it is waiting to be “awakened from its sleeping beauty to new life,” according to the advertisement.
At this point at the latest, the alarm bells should ring. The villa has actually been abandoned for decades and is being sold “unrenovated,” as the advertisement emphasizes. However, it is quickly apparent from the pictures that a little paint and a set of double windows will not be enough. The house looks downright run-down; the photos show rotting walls, meter-long cracks in the stone floor and mold. The dream villa is more like a hovel. The fact that it is a listed building is likely to make the urgently needed core renovation even more expensive.
The fact that the cottage is even being offered for sale is also causing astonishment locally, as the “Ostsee-Zeitung” reports. The owner, investor Anno August Jagdfeld, had once bought it as a family home but never moved into it. In addition to the cottage, he has apparently also offered several other unrenovated villas in recent months, and is also said to have put other houses and hundreds of hectares of land on the market.
“The Jagdfeld family did not develop some properties like the cottage for three decades,” the newspaper quoted Jochen Arenz, the mayor of Bad Doberan, which also includes Heiligendamm. “It surprises us that these properties and areas are coming onto the market now.” As in the rest of the republic, the real estate market on the Baltic Sea has collapsed sharply due to the economic situation and increased interest rates. However, a spokesman for Jagdfeld emphasized that the timing was simply considered suitable.
A list of the currently most expensive houses for this year is still pending, but an overview from last year shows that, despite its condition, the cottage is well above the usual top prices: According to “Immowelt”, the most expensive house offered between January and November was just Cost 15 million euros. However, at 445 square meters, this villa on Lake Ammersee was also significantly smaller than the Baltic Sea Palace.
Sources: Real Estate Expose, Ostsee-Zeitung, Wohnglück
