Cash-strapped Berlin stalked by
540-year-old debt
Reuters – 15
hours ago
BERLIN (Reuters) - The sleepy hamlet of Mittenwalde in eastern
Germany could become one of the richest towns in the world if Berlin were to
repay it an outstanding debt that dates back to 1562.
A certificate of
debt, found in a regional archive, attests that Mittenwalde lent Berlin 400
guilders on May 28 1562, to be repaid with six percent interest per year.
According to Radio
Berlin Brandenburg (RBB), the debt would amount to 11,200 guilders today, which
is roughly equivalent to 112 million euros ($136.79 million).
Adjusting for
compound interest and inflation, the total debt now lies in the trillions, by
RBB's estimates.
Town historian Vera
Schmidt found the centuries-old debt slip in the archive, where it had been
filed in 1963. Though the seal is missing from the document, Schmidt told
Reuters that she was certain the slip was still valid.
"In 1893 there
was a debate in which the document was examined and the writing was determined
to be authentic," Schmidt said.
Schmidt and
Mittenwalde's Mayor Uwe Pfeiffer have tried to ask Berlin for their money back.
Such requests have been made every 50 years or so since 1820 but always to no
avail.
Reclaiming the debt
would bring significant riches to Mittenwalde, a seat of power in the middle
ages, which now has a population of just 8,800. Red brick fragments of medieval
fortifications still dot the leafy town center.
The town's Romanesque
church was once the provost seat for Paul Gerhardt, one of Germany's most
prolific hymn writers. Gerhardt, who lived there briefly in the 17th century,
is the only noted Mittenwalde resident to date.
Schmidt and Pfeiffer
met with Berlin's finance senator Ulrich Nussbaum, who ceremonially handed them
a historical guilder from 1539. The guilder was put in a temporary display at
the Mittenwalde museum.
"This case shows
that debts always catch up with you, no matter how old they are," Nussbaum
told the Berliner Zeitung paper.
The debt-laden German
capital would have difficulty meeting Mittenwalde's demands anyway. According
to a report released by the senate finance administration in June 2012, Berlin
is already close to 63 million euros in the red.
(Reporting by Sophie
Duvernoy, editing by Paul Casciato)
Peter's Comment
So it's true. The Berlin Wall is to be rebuilt to keep out the debt collectors.
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