Nuremberg “secret service villa” finds no buyer – “You can’t imagine”

Created: 08/16/2022, 10:05 am

By: Nikolas Pelke

Sven Heublein looks over the high wall of the former BND villa in Nuremberg.

© Nikolas Pelke

The former “BND Villa” in the St. Johannis district of Nuremberg has not found a buyer for a year.

The citizens' association fears further vacancies and imminent decay of the historic magnificent building with its dazzling past.

Nuremberg – Even noble villas in the best stock and with a great past obviously don't sell like hotcakes anymore.

For exactly a year now, the Federal Republic of Germany has been trying to sell the former "BND villa" in Nuremberg's flagship district of St. Johannis.

"I find it really annoying that it's dragging on like this," says Sven Heublein, who has since given up the chairmanship of the citizens' association.

The competent Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks (BImA) reports on request that the former "Head Office for Surveys" is still available on the market after twelve months.

BND villa in Nuremberg: mega living space with a flight of stairs to the large garden - estimate of three million

According to the exposé, the villa has 1,750 square meters of living space, three balconies and a terrace with an opulent staircase leading to the garden of the almost 1,500 square meter property.

Against the background of these tempting prospects, the Bonn authorities have received "a large number of purchase offers" in the last twelve months.

Apparently, the trip to the notary has not yet taken place.

However, it won't be cheap for a theoretical buyer.

Heublin estimates the purchase price at three million euros and another three million in renovation costs.

The offer sounds very tempting: 1750 square meters of living space, three balconies and a terrace with an opulent staircase leading to the large garden.

© Nikolas Pelke

After all, the villa was met with "great interest on the real estate market".

"During the negotiations, however, it became apparent that not all the offers submitted were reliable and the sale was therefore more time-consuming and difficult than was initially assumed given the high demand."

Another villa in Nuremberg now houses art.

The "Villibald" is intended to serve as a contact point for art and culture lovers.

According to the BImA, sales negotiations are still ongoing

Meanwhile, the real estate advertisement with the exposé has disappeared from the federal authority's website.

However, the sale has obviously not been stopped.

"The sales negotiations are still ongoing," said the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks on request.

The sluggish negotiations do not seem to be due to the purchase price.

The authority has not set a minimum bid for the venerable property.

Nevertheless, Sven Heublein fears that the sales process could continue to drag on and the villa could continue to deteriorate.

"You can't even imagine!

And again a whole year has passed and nothing has happened,” says Heublein angrily and reminds us that the villa has practically not been used for more than ten years.

The office for questioning was officially closed in the summer of 2014.

Before that, sensitive information from asylum seekers from countries such as Afghanistan, Syria or Somalia was said to have been "scooped up" by agents.

Behind the blinds of the Nuremberg villa, "Curveball" is said to have reported on rolling weapons laboratories in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

© Nikolas Pelke

A certain "Curveball" is said to have ranted in the villa about rolling weapons laboratories in Iraq.

The violent overthrow of Saddam Hussein is now history.

Officially, the office is said to have always denied having anything to do with the Federal Intelligence Service (BND).

In 2014, Sven Heublein first heard about the strange story about the spy villa on his doorstep in Johannis.

Over the years, less and less has happened around the stately property.

Only the shutters were automatically raised and lowered from time to time.

Therefore, Heublein and his civic association tried to initiate the rescue of the villa.

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"It can't be that a great villa falls into disrepair"

"It can't be that such a great villa just falls into disrepair and stands empty here," Heublein said to himself.

At that time, while he was still chairman of the citizens' association in St. Johannis, he proposed to the city that the property be bought from the federal government and that something be made of it.

But the city quickly waved it off and pointed to the tight budgets and high costs of the listed property, which the Jewish manufacturer Angelo Hirsch had built in 1912 by a renowned Nuremberg architect, including a stone heraldic animal above the main portal.

Imposing stone deer above the villa entrance.

© Nikolas Pelke

After the First World War, the Hirschs are said to have tried their luck in New York and only used the sophisticated villa in St. Johannis as a summer residence.

Later, a boarding house moved into the magnificent building, in which Nazi grandees lodged befittingly during the Nazi party rallies.

Incidentally, Angelo Hirsch's name was carved from the relief in the brown era.

The Nazis obviously had nothing against the deer above the front door.

Villa wall secured with net

Later, after the war, first the American and then the German slouch hats moved into the magnificent villa, which at first glance still makes an impeccable impression.

Only the wall around the villa seems to be in danger of collapsing and was recently secured with a green net to protect passers-by from falling stones.

Sven Heublein in front of the BND villa that was boarded up in Nuremberg's flagship district of St. Johannis.

© Nikolas Pelke

To ensure that the magnificent building does not continue to fall into disrepair, the citizens' association tried to put pressure on the federal authorities through politics at the time.

Heublein brought the Nuremberg CSU member of the Bundestag Sebastian Brehm into the lifeboat to draw the attention of the authorities in Bonn to the vacant villa in Franconia.

Despite tough sales negotiations, the property is still not going to be available cheaply today.

"Three million for the villa, three million for the renovation," Heublein estimates the costs.

Because the account balance of the cash-strapped Franconian metropolis has fallen even further in the last year, Heublein has no hope of using it as a town villa.

Instead, most Nurembergers, like Heublein, should hope that at least the long vacancy of this magnificent building in a prime location will soon be a thing of the past.