5 European castles you could have bought for 1 euro!

A few years ago, several European countries launched programs to attract proactive people to settle in their depressed regions and breathe life into them. To do this, the authorities offer houses in these regions to eligible people for as little as 1 euro. In order to be eligible, you have to make certain commitments - to provide a proper restoration project for the property you are going to buy and agree to live and work at the very location for a certain period of time.

In fact, you can buy more than just a house for 1 euro. The program includes all kinds of properties and castles are no exception! But if buying a house for 1 euro in a small Italian village might cost you about 40,000 Euros in the long run, buying a castle for 1 euro will surely make you millions of Euros poorer. At the time of writing, there were no 1 euro castles on the market, but they were in the past.

Castel di Lucio, perched on a cliff in southern Italy, Sicily could have been yours for just that amount of money. Built by the Normans in the 13th century, it towers over the village of the same name.

Today, about 1,200 people live in the village, which is located 22 kilometers off the sea coast. To be honest, there is little left of the castle: pictures show a picturesque ruined keep and part of the wall standing firm on the rock above the tiled roofs of the houses.

Next is Chateau de Rochefort in Burgundy, France. The ruins were sold to volunteers by the then-owner of the 15th century castle for just 1 euro. This happened in 2017, after he received an order from the authorities to begin restoration works immediately. At the time, the castle had been abandoned for 200 years and had been taken over by vegetation.

The volunteers created the Clefs de Rochefort association to protect the heritage and promised to invest around 1 million euros in the preservation of the listed castle as a first step. The most difficult thing was to secure the funds, but they succeeded. Imagine how much money it will take to complete the restoration project.

Let's now move to the northeastern part of France in the Hauts-de-France region bordering Belgium. It was Chateau de Westhove in Blendecques that was on the market for just 1 auro a few years ago. The potential buyer must have been very serious about saving the crumbling municipal property. Another option was to demolish it.

Such a person came forward, but the deal never materialized because the buyer was interested in acquiring a lot of land along with the castle. The castle was built in the early 1900s in a neo-Renaissance style by a wealthy local industrialist.

During World War II, under the German occupation, it served as a Kommendatur. The castle's large park was later turned into a sports center with football pitches. In 2004, the building was closed to the public and is now completely vandalized.

Over to Belgium, Flanders, where the Flemish government bought the 500 year old Kasteel van Heers from a descendant of the Desmaisières family for just 1 euro. The castle was in a desperate state due to a family feud between two brothers, Michel and Ricardo. They lived in the same castle, but in different wings.

While they maintained the parts they lived in, the castle's common areas, such as the Great Hall or the grounds, were completely neglected. The brothers could never agree on who paid for what. And while the bitter enemies continued to argue, the jewel was being degraded. But as the previous example shows, the authorities can guarantee nothing. In the meantime, you can take a virtual tour of the castle here.

It was one of the most remarkable castle purchases in the world. The longtime home of the German House of Hanover was sold to the German state by the young Prince Ernst August for 1 euro. The man received the 135-room castle from his living father, also Prince Ernst August, but was apparently horrified by the cost of maintaining it - about 30 million euros a year.

The father did not understand the move and sued the "ungrateful" son for the sale. Marienburg Castle near Hanover was built in 1867 as a birthday gift from King George V of Hanover to his wife, Marie of Saxe-Altenburg. So make sure the property you pass on to your descendants is in good shape if you want to keep it the family for generations to come.

Castles owners from across Europe and beyond share their secrets with me! Click the button below to learn them!