Step back in time to this castle in a North Idaho forest. It’ll only cost you $7 million
Nestled between the Cabinet and Bitterroot mountains, the watchtower pokes out over the tall trees on the cusp of Bottle Bay. The stone-gray turret in front of the watchtower overlooks Lake Pend Oreille, offering stellar views of Schweitzer Mountain, the Roman Nose and the Seven Sisters peaks.
A thick stone wall crawls along the cliff’s edge, separating land from water. Just below is a two-tiered dock with room for several boats.
Welcome to Castle Von Frandsen.
This isn’t something out of middle-earth. It’s in northern Idaho, about 50 miles north of Coeur d’Alene and a short drive from Sandpoint.
It’s also not a thousands-year-old castle that once upon a time had damsels in distress captured in the tower and knights in shining armor battling to save her (although there are some suits of armor standing guard inside).
It was actually built in 2022 and is available for purchase for $7 million.
Featuring two bedrooms and three bathrooms, the 8,000-square-foot Castle Von Frandsen, located at 27 Rough Road, Sagle, sits on 10 acres of land near Bottle Bay and will take you back to a time where you’ll feel like a king or a queen lording in your castle.
The sturdy granite walls were quarried in British Columbia, Canada, and hand-chiseled on-site. The large stone walls are complemented by huge timber beams harvested from the nearby forest.
Approachable by either boat or car, you’ll have to enter the castle by a large stone tunnel, complete with a wrought iron door, hanging lights from the roof and a thick wooden door that leads inside. The stone tunnel opens to an interior plunge pool encircled by roughly hewn stone walls.
The castle proper has three floors that’ll please even the most medieval fanatic.
Stone statues, large paintings and wall candles line the circular walls. Hanging chandeliers cast a warm glow over the marble and wooden tables and chairs in the center of the rooms, and a metal suit of armor stands between two windows overlooking Lake Pend Oreille.
If you want to return to the modern day for a while, the castle is only a 15-mile drive down the coast from Sandpoint. The Panida Theater is the cultural center for music, cinema and theater in Sandpoint, and the Cedar Street Bridge Public Market is a hotbed of local crafts and boutique shops.
Sandpoint also has an abundant number of outdoor hikes and trails, such as the Gold Hill Trail, which leads you into the forest and provides views of Sandpoint and the nearby Selkirk Mountains, and the Schweitzer Mountain Resort.
This story was originally published September 10, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
