HE had been forced to take his protest onto the roof with a banner for the whole world to see.
But now,after 14 years of waiting, a German entrepreneur has won a great victory to save one of Ronda’s most evocative buildings from ruin.
After years of battling it out, the town hall has finally given hotelier Jochen Knie a licence for a five star hotel at the Casa del Rey Moro.
It has hopefully come just in the nick of time, as the listed building – a regular tourist stop off for its famous Mina – is in danger of collapse.
The protected 18th century building, which perches over the edge of the famous Tajo gorge, will start to be restored next month.
Last year Knie was jailed for three hours following a rooftop protest to campaign against the town hall’s 14-year delay in permitting the five star hotel. He was jailed because he “resisted arrest with sticks and threats,” according to Mayor Antonio Marin Lara.
The saga continues after Knie’s company was ordered to pay 150,000 euros to a local woman who was promised a home after she vacated neighboring land to allow for the proposed luxury hotel.
The businessman, who also owns the five star Casa Imperial hotel in Sevilla, was later fined 60,000 euros for not keeping the historic building in order.
Since then the building has been allowed to fall into further disrepair and the staircase that descends into La Mina had to be closed to the public for three days in January .
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At last, the restauration can start. Would be a shame if the palace collapse
Spanish bureaucracy in action. Only Spain could sue and imprison the man trying to save the building. You really couldn’t make it up.
What great news that this wonderful building will be preserved. I just hope the german guy has deep pockets-it will cost a fortune but could make a very, very attractive hotel.
……… sad but its foreigners like Mr. Knie and thousands of others on a smaller scale, who will preserve the Spanish historic old towns cultural heritage.
………. more sad the local customs are unless you can collect dinerito para nada sell it to the dumb guiri for too much money and then move into one of those atrocious ghettos that wouldn’t even qualify for prisons in a civilized country. Tasteless opportunistic Mafiosi ……. sh***ing in their own backyards.
Please do a little bit of homework. The Hotel Casa Imperial has been closed for months. Mr. Knie no longer owns it. He failled to pay the banks, to pay his employees, to pay his suppliers. Check in Seville´s courst, he has a lot of lost causes.
Why were all his employees on a permanent strike, both in Hotel Casa Imperial and Casa del Rey Moro. Well, let me tell you, just because he would not pay them their salaries in order to have a great life himself.
Where is he going to get he money for the Casa del Rey Moro. Has he payed the lady of Ronda the money he owned her for the houses he bought opposite to the Casa del Rey Moro?
Dear Fernando,
Thank you for leaving your comments on our website.
Please could you send me a contact number as I would be very interested in finding out more information about this.
My email is wendy@theolivepress.es, you can also reach me at 951166060.
Thank you and kind regards, Wendy
Este Sr. debe dinero en toda Andalucía, a otros empresarios, a sus antiguos trabajadores y sus proveedores. Durante años falló en el pago a los mismos, adeudando grandes sumas a Hacienda y a la Seguridad Social.
Tiene numerosas causas abiertas en los juzgados de Sevilla y Málaga, y otras tantas perdidas y pendientes de embargos.
El Hotel Casa Imperial, que supuestamente gestionaba y donde habría obtenido su experiencia para esta nueva aventura, después de años abierto sin licencias y sin inscripción en los registros de Turismo de Andalucía (consultar en Turismo los expedientes abiertos en contra suya), ha tenido que cerrarlo porque no se lo ha pagado al banco y a puesto en la calle sin cobrar a la mayoría de sus trabajadores.
¿Cómo va a financiar este nuevo proyecto?
¿Ha pagado ya a la Sra. a la que compró las casas frente al hotel y a quien dejó en la calle, tras prometerle una vivienda? ¿Ha depositado en los juzgados los importes del juicio que perdió contra ella?
A mi entender, se le permitió comprar el hotel, pero cuando se negó a pagar sobornos a los políticos locales para las licencias que se detuvo a partir de la renovación o la apertura del hotel. Así que él fue incapaz de hacer dinero, pero las facturas seguían llegando por lo que fue quebrado por aquellos que se negaron a soborno. ¿No es este el caso?