Bran Castle, the legendary home immortalized in Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula," is up for sale.
The castle, perched on a hilltop in Transylvania, Romania, is represented by the New York law firm Herzfeld and Rubin. It was reportedly offered to the Romanian government for 50 million pounds, $84 million, but the sellers are keeping the price quiet to make sure they find the right buyer.
"If someone comes in with a reasonable offer, we will look at who they are, what they are proposing, and will seriously entertain the idea," Mark Meyer, from Herzfeld and Rubin, told The Telegraph.
The 57-room castle has had a number of notable owners since it began as a fortress in 1211. But Bram Castle is best known for being the inspiration for the vampire Dracula's home in Irish novelist Bram Stoker's 1897 novel.
The vampire himself is said to be based on the real-life bloodthirsty ruler Vlad "The Impaler" Tepes, who reigned in Bran during the 15th century, according to the castle's website. Tepes is at one time believed to have been imprisoned in the castle for two months.
Past owners of Bran Castle include the Saxons, the Teutonic knights and the Hungarians. It was also the home of Britain's Queen Victoria's granddaughter Queen Marie in the '20s, who was part of Romania's Habsburg royal family, The Telegraph reported.
After a few decades where the castle was taken over by communists, it was returned to the remaining royal family. Archduke Dominic, Queen Marie's grandson, and his sisters Maria Magdalena and Elizabeth are its current owners. They are now in their 70s.
But the communists left the castle in a dilapidated sate, even ripping out some of the bathrooms before they left, The Telegraph reported. That is why the law firm wants to make sure the new owners contribute to its appeal as a tourist attraction, which already rakes in $7 million a year from visitors, The Telegraph reported.
"At present, it makes a tidy profit, but in the right hands it has the potential to generate far more revenue than we could ever imagine," Meyer told The Telegraph.
