Why not Rivendell? Just asking. A bunch of J.R.R. Tolkien fans in the United Kingdom have launched a fund-raising page called "Realise Minas Tirith" to create "a beautiful, inspirational and fully-functioning replica of Peter Jackson's depiction of Minas Tirith, as seen in his Lord of the Rings films." Minis Tirith is the capital city in Gondor, as featured in "The Return of the King."

They acknowledge they have no rights to the name "Minis Tirith" and will "happily cancel this project should any dispute arise over such." They also tell fellow fans "Please only donate within your means, and in the knowledge that this project is a light-hearted venture with virtually no chance of succeeding." They add that if they don't reach their goal of £1.85bn, aka around $3 billion, the pledges will be canceled. So the stakes are bargain basement low, and maybe it's impressive (or sad?) that anyone has pledged anything at all, even if they are nowhere near the goal. So far, £64,173 has been pledged by 1,616 people in 14 days, which is just about $100,000 in U.S. dollars. There are 46 days left, but -- just a guess -- they probably won't reach the $3B mark.

Still, the creators thought this through, and said most of the money would go into building costs, with the rest invested in maintenance and public services for a livable city until the year 2053. "We would commence work on Minas Tirith by the end of 2016, and complete the project by the end of 2023. We are currently considering two locations for Minas Tirith, both in southern England."

Let's say this thing magically gets an investor with way too much money to burn and it really happens. How cool would it be to visit a real-life Minas Tirith? Would it have its own king?

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