Bodo Ramelow swaps Thuringian forest property for an apartment in South Tyrol

Bodo Ramelow is saying “ciao” to his holiday home in Thuringia and making more room for life in northern Italy. The former Thuringian premier is selling his property near the Bleiloch reservoir and plans to spend more time in Merano with his wife.

“I am moving part of my life to Italy with my better half,” Ramelow told the German Press Agency in Erfurt. The couple has often vacationed in Merano in recent years, and they decided to exchange the demanding upkeep of the roughly 2,000-square-meter forest property for a rented apartment in the South Tyrolean city.

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I am moving part of my life to Italy with my better half.

Ramelow said his wife, who was born in Italy, also wanted more opportunities to speak her native language. The move, however, will not change his main home. “I am from Erfurt, and I will remain from Erfurt,” he said. He added that this would remain true after his Bundestag mandate ends.

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I am from Erfurt, and I will remain from Erfurt.

Ramelow, a politician with the Left party, has served as one of the Bundestag’s vice presidents since the 2025 federal election. He said the current legislative term would be his last and that he would not run for another political office.

He has also commented on the upcoming state election in Saxony-Anhalt, recommending that the state consider cooperation across party lines. “Anyone who wants to prevent harm to the state of Saxony-Anhalt must be able to talk to one another across party lines,” he told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. Ramelow served as Thuringia’s minister president for 10 years, while Reiner Haseloff governed Saxony-Anhalt for almost 15 years.

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Anyone who wants to prevent harm to the state of Saxony-Anhalt must be able to talk to one another across party lines.