Pope's house for sale

The owner of the house in southern Germany where Pope Benedict XVI was born today said she planned to sell it because swarms of tourists were making her life impossible.

Claudia Dandl, who lives in the house in the Bavarian town of Marktl am Inn with her two children, said she wanted to move out so visitors can get a proper look at the new attraction – and to get some peace from strangers ringing the doorbell and peering through the windows.

“The faithful’s desire to see the house of Pope Benedict XVI’s birth is very strong,” Dandl said.

The Pope, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger until his elevation to the head of the Roman Catholic Church in April, was born in the building on April 16, 1927. The house, built in 1745, is designated as a historic site.

Dandl, who bought it in 1999, said she had not set any target price for the house, on which the local authority has right of first refusal.