GERMANY
The Local
The lavish lifestyle of a bishop who is spending €31 million on building a new headquarters in west Germany was exposed on Friday, when it emerged he has spent €783,000 on a garden, €25,000 on a table and €15,000 on a bath tub.
The bishop of Limburg, Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, has been heavily criticized for the luxurious complex being built next to Limburg Cathedral in the state of Hesse. Earlier this week it emerged the costs had overrun by ten times the initial estimate from around €3 million to €31 million.
And on Friday Bild newspaper published a breakdown of the costs of the pricey project. They include €350,000 on built-in-wardrobes, €25,000 on a conference table and €783,000 on a garden.
His own apartment in the complex is costing €3 million with €478,000 going on furnishings. Guest rooms will cost €1.1 million and the new chapel €2.67 million.
The Nassauische Neue Presse newspaper also reported on Wednesday that the bishop’s bathtub cost €15,000.
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