Inside the $76 Million Switzerland Home Where Tina Turner Spent Her Peaceful Final Years with Erwin Bach
The music icon became a Swiss citizen in 2013 and lived on the shore of Lake Zurich in an impressive estate
Dave Benett/Getty Images; Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP
Tina Turner died Wednesday at a home that had long been a refuge for the legendary singer.
The Queen of Rock, who died at age 83 on May 24 after a long illness, her publicist Bernard Doherty confirmed in a statement, had left behind the spotlight — and the United States — for a life at her quiet estate in the town of Kusnacht, Switzerland, on the shore of Lake Zurich.
Turner moved into the home, known as Villa Algonquin, in 1998 with her partner, German actor and music producer Erwin Bach, 67. She rented the estate for many years due to Swiss restrictions on foreigners buying property in the country. After Turner became a Swiss citizen in 2013, she purchased it for a reported $76 million, according to the Associated Press.
The estate is where she wed Bach in 2013 and where she died, her publicist previously confirmed to PEOPLE.
Related: Cher Reveals She Visited Tina Turner Shortly Before Her Death: 'She Was Really Happy'
Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP
Visiting in 2019, the New York Times' Amanda Hess wrote, “It has cartoon palace energy: ivy snaking up the walls, gardeners manicuring the shrubs, a life-size two-legged horse sculpture suspended from a domed ceiling, a framed rendering of Turner as an Egyptian queen, a room stuffed with gilded Louis XIV style sofas and, sprawled on one of them, Tina Turner herself."
Hass also noted a placard on the estate's high iron gates that reads, “Vor 12.00 Uhr nicht l?uten, keine Lieferungen," which translates to, "Do not ring before 12pm, no deliveries."
Local newspaper Handelszeitung described Villa Algonquin in a 2020 feature, noting the property is located directly on Lake Zurich and covers an impressive 59,427 square feet. In addition to the four-story main building, there's a two-story boathouse and a large garden.
Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP
Ownership of the villa changed hands in June 2020, according to the land registry office in Küsnacht, which confirmed its sale to Ines Kaindi-Benes, head of a family-owned wood processing company in Lucerne, Handelszeitung reports. Sources told the outlet the purchase price was in the "mid double-digit million range."
Under the terms of the sale, Turner and Bach were allowed to stay in place as renters, according to the outlet. Another previous owner of the villa, photographer Kaspar Fleischmann, reportedly still lives in the boathouse.
Since the news of her death, fans have been gathering at the gates of the property, which are flanked by two large illuminated columns and bear the inscription "Algonquin" in gold letters. Those who've made the pilgrimage left flowers, notes and candles in tribute to the icon.
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"I'm shocked," Miran Znider, told the local AFP. The 48-year-old Slovenian fan and neighbor spoke to the outlet on Wednesday evening while holding back tears. "I didn't expect it to happen so soon."
Asked why he came, he replied, “Because she's the queen, the queen of all women. I love Tina."
"It's a very sad day," Ozgur Arzik, 48, told AFP. "I grew up with Tina Turner's sons and I live very close to here. I always listened to her songs and I'm really sad that we lost her," he continued. "I just wanted to be here."
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