Siemens villa worth 27,5 million euros auctioned in Berlin

The Siemens family home has been auctioned in foreclosure in Potsdam, near Berlin, but the highest bidder didn’t offer enough to close the deal, according to a report by rbb. 

Siemens Potsdam villa auctioned in foreclosure

The Siemens family villa, which sits on Lehnitzsee in Potsdam, just outside Berlin, was auctioned in foreclosure on Thursday. The highest bidder offered 13,75 million euros for the property, which is thought to be worth 27,5 million.

The bid came from a Londoner, who said they intend to turn the 100.000 square metre villa and surrounding land into a meditation retreat. However, Volksbank, one of the creditors, has initially vetoed the sale, claiming the bid is too low.

The bidder will now have to wait until September 25 to find out whether their offer will be accepted.

Still unclear who currently owns the Siemens’ villa

The villa was built by architect Otto March in 1910 at the request of Carl Friedrich, the son of electrical engineer Werner von Siemens, who founded the German international company.

Carl Friedrich became involved in his father’s business in 1899. His extracurricular activities involved funding the far-right Anti-Bolshevist League, also later known as the League for the Protection of German Culture, which was involved in paying the Freikorp to murder Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht.

From 1920 to 1924, Carl Friedrich was a member of the German Democratic Party (DDP). According to Siemens’ own telling, he withdrew from public office as the Nazis took power, but “in the interests of the company, he avoided conflicts with the regime”.

Nazi defeat saw the property seized by the Russians and converted into a sanatorium. When Germany reunified, the government returned ownership of the villa to the Siemens family, but it sat unused.

The building is now in need of significant repairs and was last sold in 2020, but it is unclear who owns the property at the time of the foreclosure auction.