Life in a castle – Heidi & Egon's dream comes true | ARD Room Tour скачать в хорошем качестве

Life in a castle – Heidi & Egon's dream comes true | ARD Room Tour

Living in their own castle has long been a dream for Heidi and Egon. As there are many castles that are falling into disrepair, they wanted to make a contribution to saving them. With Schloss Hürbel, their dream has now come true.The former dentist and the retired detective had been looking for the right castle for a long time, but it had never really been the right fit. When they came to Upper Swabia in 2013 to visit the baroque castle, they quickly realized that Hürbel Castle was exactly what they had been looking for. A castle with many historical elements worth preserving and potential.At the time, Hürbel Castle was in a very poor condition. A chimney was threatening to collapse and cause major damage to the roof and the floors below. This was one of the reasons why the couple quickly decided to invest all their savings in the baroque castle. They paid 860,000 euros for the castle and the outbuildings. Egon now thinks that the price was far too high in relation to the condition of the building. After all, Schloss Hürbel was not habitable at the time and a lot of renovation work had to be done: Burst water pipes, power lines from 1930, broken floors. The previous owner was no longer able to adequately maintain Hürbel Castle.Some things also had to be dismantled. At the beginning of the 20th century, the castle became the property of the Sisters of Mercy of the nearby Bonlanden Convent. They had the castle converted to house their living quarters, kitchen, a kindergarten and the administration of their orphanage. The Art Nouveau tiled stoves, which the nuns had installed to heat with egg coals, date from this period. The old stoves in the castle were heated with wood. But this required staff to constantly add wood.The huge stove in the castle kitchen also dates back to the time when the castle was an orphanage - the room where Heidi and Egon like to spend most of their time, not least because of the cozy warmth provided by the wall heating. Their study and living room are located in the so-called wallpaper salons. The biggest attraction in the castle are the well-preserved wallpapers by Jean-Baptiste Réveillon. He is considered the most famous French wallpaper maker, who began producing wallpaper in Paris in 1756 with great success. It took two years to restore the valuable wallpapers in the blue and green salons, which had been badly damaged by water, among other things. Despite a grant of 80 percent, the castle owners still had to pay around 60,000 euros. Today, they are proud to be able to preserve this cultural heritage. Hürbel Castle is home to the largest coherent pieces of wallpaper from the former purveyor to the court of Louis XVI. Smaller pieces are exhibited at the MoMa in New York, among other places. Heidi and Egon only live in part of Hürbel Castle itself. In order to finance the costly renovations, they planned from the outset to develop apartments in the castle. They have now furnished three vacation apartments and rented out two apartments permanently. The wedding room, where civil weddings can be held, and the hall in the adjoining building, which they rent out for parties and yoga classes, are also important sources of income for them.In total, the two have restored 64 rooms, towers, the outdoor area and the outbuildings. With their mix of old building fabric and modern furniture, they have managed to transform Hürbel Castle into a cozy home away from home. The indoor climate is very pleasant, not least due to the swamp lime with which the rooms were painted. The paint has an antibacterial and moisture-binding effect. Until around the middle of the 20th century, lime was the building material of choice. Many cultural and historical treasures were able to survive for many centuries despite adverse conditions. Heidrun and Egon have invested a great deal in their castle and, apart from the restoration of the wallpaper, have not received any subsidies from the heritage office. They are still happy today that they bought Schloss Hürbel in 2013 and that their concept of a castle that is half private and half public has worked out. 00:00 Living in Hürbel Castle 01:33 Rental apartment and Lourdes Grotto 03:24 Castle kitchen 05:47 Foyer 06:34 Salons 11:48 Wedding hall 12:30 Napoleon Suite 12:56 Rose garden