Ten Gucci handbags were found in her empty walk-in bedroom closet, while her designer clothing was strewn around the abandoned Constantia mansion.
The handbags will be sold when the hammer falls on the luxury home and its entire contents, owned by the glamorous Baroness Alexandra von Maltzahn, who left behind a substantial trail of debt when she fled South Africa last year.
‘Several years ago we sold the nearby Constantia mansion of convicted German fraudster Jurgen Harksen,” said auctioneer Rael Levitt. ‘These high-profile characters always provide enormous entertainment for curiosity seekers, and their assets provide lucky bidders with unprece-dented investment opportunities.”
The Baroness’s Range Rover was collected by auctioneers at Cape Town International Airport after the authorities were alerted last July.
The auction is being conducted next Friday after a provisional sequestration order was set aside by the Western Cape High Court in November last year. Standard Bank has power of attorney to sell the property as it is owed R45-million, according to the auctioneers.
The lavish house was expected to fetch anything from R20-million to R25-million upwards, they said. A vacant plot next door, owned by the Baroness, is also up for sale.
Originally from Slovenia, the Baroness did not come alone when she landed in Cape Town in 1999.
Family photographs left behind reveal she married Baron Victor of Germany in 1994 and she was pictured riding with him in her white bridal gown in a carriage in London’s exclusive Holland Park.
The couple moved to the luxurious Constantia Heights property, bringing with them four full-time security staff and two bodyguards. The Baron and Baroness had a daughter, Marie-Louise, whose rocking horse was another item abandoned as they fled their home. None of their creditors knows where the family has gone.
While the aristocouple moved in exalted circles and entertained lavishly, the investigative magazine, Noseweek, had already taken an interest in the pair they dubbed ‘Baron and Baroness von Bullshit”.
According to Noseweek, the staff spent days polishing silver and planning menus. ‘Gardeners manicured the grounds, sometimes planting annuals in full bloom so that everything would look perfect on the appointed day,” the magazine claimed in an article. ‘Mark Thatcher was often present and sometimes bought his dear mother. Another guest was Tom Cruise.”
Some of the possessions they left behind reveal something about their priorities. Abandoned items included a valuable Bible, a large plastic Christmas tree, children’s toys and some pieces of rather threadbare, gold-leafed furniture.