Village for Sale

"Why don't you buy your own village?" reads the text accompanying the somewhat unusual property listing on the auction Web site. Indeed, why not? The asking price is a real bargain, especially if you consider that people routinely shell out 300,000 euros for an average-sized apartment in the city.

For the same amount, you could be the proud owner of Liebon, a tiny village nestled in the state of Saxony that has a history dating back to 1322.

Admittedly, tiny is the key adjective. The village consists of three buildings, two road signs, and has a total area of just 15,000 square meters (3.7 acres) -- about the size of two football fields. Current population: eight.

One of those residents is Karsten Schmidt, 45. He lives in Liebon with his wife and two children. Schmidt's parents also live in the village, as does Schmidt's brother, who lives with his girlfriend.

Rural idyll

His describes Liebon as a picture-book place -- a farm with a big family home, a playground, a pond, a fountain and a tiny shop.

"The village is practically self-sufficient," he told the Bild newspaper. "We planted an orchard in the big garden and we grow potatoes."

Despite the idyllic setting, Schmidt says he's ready to start packing the moving boxes if the family gets a decent offer.

"My two daughters are so far away from everything," he said. "My parents don't have driving licenses, and you really depend on a car here."

The nearest neighbors are some 1.5 kilometers away. But Schmidt says prospective new residents shouldn't worry about feeling too cut off from the world, as Liebon has been kitted out with high-speed Internet access.