A district court in Koblenz, Germany, ruled today that Prince Georg Friedrich is not entitled to the ownership of Rheinfels castle.
The great-great-grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the present head of the former German Imperial family claimed the former royal property and sued the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the City of St. Goar and a four-star hotel that adjoins the ruins of the castle.
The former fortress is a UNESCO World Heritage site and had been in the ownership of the Prussian royal family since the 19th Century. St. Goar became the owner of the castle in 1924, agreeing to an order to never sell the walls. In 1998, the city agreed to a leasehold with the hotel next to the castle for 99 year with the possibility of an extension.
The court that the castle ruins were not a part of the Hohenzollern family's private property, and was a part of the property that was confiscated in 1918, after Wilhelm's abdication and the establishment of a republic, and placed under the administration of the Prussian Ministry of Finance.
The Rhineland-Palatinate state is considered the legal successor to the former Prussian state, which received administration powers in 1947.
From the onset of the lawsuit, the court "expressed doubts" that Georg Friedrich's suit would be successful.
The verdict is not legally binding as Georg Friedrich's lawyers plan an appeal.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/world/article/Germany-kaiser-s-descendant-loses-bid-for-return-14042828.php?psid=bxHkz
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/menschen/prinz-von-preussen-verliert-prozess-um-burg-rheinfels-16253276.html?GEPC=s3
1 comment:
Property confiscated in 1918 to the Imperial family of Germany. Was it of the ruling family whom were reigning in that area by chance ?
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