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Matthias Ross, 44, of Bavaria, a state in southern Germany, has put a private island in Canada up for sale 21 years after winning it in a draw organized by confectionery maker Haribo. The asking price is 348,000 Canadian dollars (about $255,000), or roughly 220,000 euros, according to reports by German daily Bild and Euronews.
Haribo’s April 2005 campaign offered a private island in Canada and a wooden house as its main prize. The package also included a first flight to the island, a canoe, fishing equipment and Haribo’s Gold-Bears candies.
German television host Thomas Gottschalk, who was then the face of Haribo’s advertising, appeared in the promotion. Gottschalk also accompanied Ross to Canada when he traveled to see the island. The islanders built the wooden house later.
The island lies on Back Lake in the Shelburne region of Nova Scotia, a province on Canada’s Atlantic coast. It covers about 6.5 hectares (about 16 acres) and includes a two-bedroom wooden house, a jetty, two small boats, a generator, and a storage shed.
The island has no connection to city utilities. Solar panels provide electricity, water is pumped from the lake, and a compost toilet replaces a conventional sewage system. The island is reachable only by boat.
Ross’s parents maintained the house and land for years by traveling to the island. Long trips to Canada became more difficult as they grew older.
Ross told German media that the annual property tax alone comes to about 2,500 euros. Flights from Germany to Canada, car rental, boat transport and maintenance expenses add to the total.
Ross, who spent holidays on the island for years, said he now wants to explore other parts of the world.
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