Dresden / Meissen (dpa / sn) - The forced auction of the historic grain house in Meissen is off the table. All of the debts encumbering the property have been settled, meaning that the foreclosure date has lapsed, the municipality announced on Wednesday. First, sächsische.de reported, the online portal of the "Sächsische Zeitung". The foreclosure of the building was scheduled for next Monday.
The Kornhaus is part of the Albrechtsburg castle ensemble and is owned by an Austrian-Italian group of investors. Until 2008 it belonged to the city of Meissen. Originally, the investors wanted to convert it into a luxury hotel. However, the building from the late 15th century fell into disrepair. The AfD had expressed an interest in buying it in order to set up a training and conference center there and wanted to bid at the auction.
There was widespread resistance to this. Last Monday, the coalition factions of the CDU, Greens and SPD in the culture committee of the state parliament rejected an application by the left calling on the government to buy the Kornhaus. The SPD deputy Frank Richter had previously campaigned in an open letter supported by celebrities for the state to buy the Kornhaus.
The AfD had repeatedly emphasized that their primary concern was to protect the Kornhaus from decay. The Greens spoke out in favor of the rapid creation of a usage concept for the Kornhaus. Saxony's Ministry of Finance has so far been opposed to an acquisition.
Meissen now wants to approach the group of investors to explore their plans. "The city of Meissen and also the majority of the city councilors have clearly spoken out in favor of integrating the house back into the Albrechtsburg in terms of ownership," sächsische.de quoted Mayor Raschke of Meissen as saying (independent). That would be up to the state of Saxony.
SPD man Richter made it clear on Wednesday that the averted auction only gained time. "The city and the Free State should come together to develop a common idea and a usage concept," he emphasized. "We are sticking to the fact that the Free State should negotiate a purchase with the Kornhaus owner and the city of Meissen, because the Albrechtsburg is completely in the public domain," said left-wing politician Franz Sodann.
