Architecture

Plan hatched to build "Lord of the Rings" city in England

Plan hatched to build "Lord of the Rings" city in England
The city would be a replica of Peter Jackson's movie depiction of Minas Tirith
The city would be a replica of Peter Jackson's movie depiction of Minas Tirith
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The city would be a replica of Peter Jackson's movie depiction of Minas Tirith
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The city would be a replica of Peter Jackson's movie depiction of Minas Tirith

Though usually associated more with Middle-earth than Middle England, a plan is afoot to build the fictional city of Minas Tirith from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings – or Peter Jackson's movie depiction of it, anyway – in the UK. Of course, one does not simply build a fantastical city without funds, and the team hopes to raise £1.85 billion (US$2.9 billion) during a 60 day Indiegogo campaign.

According to the Realise Minas Tirith crowdfunding page, the blue-sky scheme was conceived by an ambitious group of architects and engineers who love all things Tolkien and enjoy Jackson's depiction of Minas Tirith. The team, headed by Jonathan Wilson, hopes to create a fully-functioning city somewhere in southern England (two unnamed sites are currently under consideration) that would serve as tourist attraction, and a place to live and work.

The city would include residential and commercial spaces, and operate with a total budget of £1.85 bn. To break this down, £1.4 bn ($2.1 bn) is earmarked for materials – Black Stone and Mithril doesn't come cheap after all – while £15 m ($23 m) is estimated for land, and £188 m ($290 m) for labor. Whatever's left would be used to run maintenance and public services until 2053.

Available Indiegogo rewards include your name on a monument for a pledge of £15 ($25), and a single night's stay in the city's lodgings for £500 ($780). Permanent residents are also being sought, with a luxury four-bedroom penthouse up for £1,720,000 ($2.7 million). Surprisingly, there's no mention of any plans for Hobbit Hole-based social housing on the crowdfunding page.

Alas, as of writing, the project's fixed-funding chest sits at just £176 ($275) after nine days of the campaign, so unless they can find a sleeping dragon atop a stash of gold, it looks like this one may be destined to remain on the drawing board.

Source: Indiegogo

5 comments
5 comments
Robert Walther
Before Frodo & company arrival, Hobbits were mostly legends in Minas Tirith, if I remember correctly.
javadog
Wow, a single night is expected to cost over $700 USD? Makes a hole in the ground or perhaps a three sided backpacking structure a lot more attractive for those of us who don't have the financial resources of an elf prince or princess!
Madlyb
It's only a model.
Shhh!
the.other.will
I'm not sure which is sillier, the idea or that anyone is taking it seriously. And RW is correct, all residents of MT had been human for many years by the time of the War of the Ring.
Kristianna Thomas
The building of Minas Tirith is not something that will be built in Middle (Earth) England any time soon, but what about building it on Mars? There is a lot of interests in developing human habitats on the Red Planet, but no one is thinking in the long term when there may be a population explosion of Earthlings immigrating to Mars. Who will build the first Martian city, and who will it be named after. Maybe there would be more interest in funding a Martian city than a fictional city out of the Lord of the Rings? Minas Tirith, the first city of Mars; home of the first Martians (my favorite Martian).