We actually never had the desire for a home of our own and lived happily and contentedly renting the house. However, the previous owner wanted to sell, and we had the choice: buy the house ourselves or move out. Since the price, at that time real estate prices here were very low, was more than good, we initially bought, albeit with a heavy heart.
According to the official monument list, the house was built around 1900, but I found the building file in the city archive, including the building application from 1860. Originally, the house was a summer home in the countryside until Leipzig incorporated the countryside around the turn of the century. A wealthy widow spent the summers here with children and grandchildren. Therefore, from a floor plan perspective, it is uninhabitable by modern standards.
And of course, we try to renovate as authentically as possible. Exterior insulation is not possible due to monument protection; therefore, when necessary, insulation is done from the inside using wood fiber or calcium silicate boards (energetically, the place is still a disaster). The box windows are being refurbished gradually, the floorboards, if still in good condition, are sanded down, clay plaster will be applied to the walls, and drywall is, of course, out of the question despite the crooked walls. The advantage is that we are under no time pressure and can therefore carefully think through every single construction site about how we want it and how to best get there. The disadvantage: it always quickly gets very dusty...