Romanian hotel company Aro Palace intends to sell the Brasov Fortress and is currently negotiating with the Brasov city hall, which showed interest to buy it and restore it. However, if the local authorities won’t agree to pay the EUR 3.5-4 million price that Aro Palace is asking for the fortress, the company might put it for auction in fall, according to Mediafax.

“Brasov Fortress is a historic monument and its technical condition is poor. Aro Palace should invest very much money to rehabilitate the walls, some EUR 2.5 to 3 million, by our estimates. The activity of the restaurant that’s functioning within the fortress will never bring enough money to allow us to recover such an investment,” said Mihai Fercala, general manager of SIF Transilvania, a Romanian investment fund that owns the majority stake in Aro Palace.

He said that the fortress generates losses for Aro Palace, which has to cover utilities and personnel costs, while the number of tourists visiting it has declined in recent years.

The Brasov Fortress was built between the XVI and XVIII centuries. It includes a tower and a surrounding wall with battlements in the corners. The surface of the construction is more than 5,500 sqm. It is situated on a hill in Brasov.

Aro Palace owns five hotels, among which the five-star Aro Palace hotel in the center of Brasov, and three restaurants, including the one in the Brasov Fortress and one that is located on the Tampa mountain, the main landmark of the city. The company had a turnover of EUR 4.6 million and losses of EUR 1.4 million in 2013.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Aro Palace)