They Just Vanished

This mansion worth millions has been standing desolate after the owners mysteriously disappeared more than a decade ago

- By Pieter Van Zyl

It sounds like the stuff urban legends are made of: a castle-like mansion full of furniture and appliances stands empty in an upmarket neighbourhood. In the garage, three Rolls-Royces and a Lotus worth millions gather dust. Outside, nature is reclaiming the property – roots nibbling away at walls, reeds clogging the pool, plants running riot.

But this is no tall tale. The house exists, large as life in a quiet suburb in Gqeberha where it’s been the bane of the community’s lives for years.

At the heart of it is a mystery: the couple who owned the place seem to have vanished off the face of the Earth. And how is that even possible in this day and age when anyone and his dog can be tracked down thanks to the tendrils of technology?

Some residents say they were run out of town, others joke they were abducted by aliens. Why else would they leave all their possessions behind?

The house number is 13 – enough to make you pause if you’re superstitious – and it was once an imposing property.

The façade, built from modern facebrick, resembles a medieval castle, complete with a moat and bridge. The vast grounds are surrounded by cast-iron gates that twirl with lions and crowns, while several sculptures peep out among the foliage in the overgrown garden.

The owners, Werner Braun and his wife, Marianna Potgieter, clearly spared no expense turning the property into their dream home. Yet they haven’t set foot in the house for more than a decade.