You know it’s a bad economy when movie stars start selling their castles. Nicolas Cage bought his German one, Schloss Neidstein, in 2006, and has spent millions of dollars to renovate the 11th century property. The castle has 28 rooms and is surrounded by nearly 400 acres of meadows, forests and fields. Sounds nice.

People always make fun of Nicholas Cage, and I’m not sure why. Once upon a time, he was one of the best actors out there, although he’s spent the last dozen years making the same brainless action movie over and over again. But he makes the studios a lot of money, and he’ll always get work. And he’s amassed quite the savings account in the process too. The German castle was only one part of his vast real estate portfolio:

Oscar winner Nicolas Cage is selling his 11th century estate called Schloss Neidstein in Etzelwang, Germany, after he bought it in 2006 and set about restoring the castle to its former glory.

The actor, whose mother Joy Vogelsang is from Germany, purchased the estate for some £1.6 million, but is understood to have spent that twice over since in renovating the castle.

Schloss Neidstein sits on a hill with a stunning view of 395 acres of forest, meadows and fields. The 9,688-square-foot castle has 28 rooms, including 10 bedrooms and five bathrooms.

But he was only seen visiting the estate once, in 2008. “He didn’t have his heart in it,” said Roman Berr, the local mayor. And now the “Leaving Las Vegas” star has sold the property to a lawyer, according to Mr Berr.

But the nephew of legendary Hollywood director Francis Ford Coppola still has a considerable property portfolio, including homes in Los Angeles, Louisiana and another castle, the 18th century Midford Castle on the outskirts of Bath.

In a recent interview with British radio station Heart, the actor spoke of his love for his English retreat, saying, “The castle is in a process of restoration and hasn’t been finished yet. It’s a long process. It’s from the 1700s and it needs quite a bit of love.”

“It’s more like a castle of the imagination. It’s more of a Lewis Carroll-type castle actually; quite fantastical and all that.”

[From The Telegraph]

That’s nice. He has a new castle to renovate. I was worried for a second. I already knew he had a big house in New Orleans and lots of property in Hollywood, but The Telegraph doesn’t mention that Cage also owns at least one private island in the Caribbean. Who needs a German castle when you’re got your own tropical island?

Here’s Nicolas Cage on the set of ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ in New York City on Monday. Images thanks to WENN .