Back in January, Dominic Habsburg offered to sell the infamous Bran Castle back to the Romanian authorities for a cool $78M. The ministers balked at the price because they felt it was too high. Now opposition MP Dumitru Ioan Puchianu claims that the return of the castle had been illegal due to a procedural error. Mr. Habsburg (whose family was thrown out of the castle after World War II) is not the owner of the castle and therefore has no right to sell it, according to Puchianu.

Habsburg responded to Puchianu’s claim by sending a letter through his lawyers that threatened to sue the Romanian MPs for $200M if they try to strip him of his right to sell the castle. What started out as a good gesture toward the people of Romania has turned into a legal fight that Habsburg may lose if Puchianu’s claim turns out to be correct.

The Transylvanian castle of Vlad the Impaler (or Count Dracula) is an impressive 14th century fortress that last belonged to Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Queen Marie of Romania, until the Communists seized it in 1956. It was relinquished back to the family seven months ago on the condition that it was kept as a state-run museum for three years, whether it remained in the family or was sold.

Queen Marie’s grandson, Dominic von Habsburg, has decided that he wants the castle to be owned by the people of Brasov, who benefit from the tourism as well as the cultural heritage. He is asking £40m, with the hopes that the local council of Brasov will buy the castle. According to Aristotel Cancescu, the council president, the Brasov authorities are very interested in the acquisition.

Source: Times Online