DESPERATE TIMES

Hungarian Village Up for Rent

Be deputy mayor for the weekend.

The mayor of the Hungarian village of Megyer, population 18, has put his entire town up for rent for just 700 euros a day (or about $850) in an attempt to bring in money as well as attention. The largely deserted village is well-preserved, and an advertisement for the rental includes use of its streets, the mayor’s office, cultural center, bus stop, and multiple “peasant-style” houses. The village’s horses, cows, sheep, and poultry houses are also available for use. “A law I brought in means an outsider can also become deputy mayor for a weekend, and even change the street names if you want,” Megyer Mayor Kristof Pajer said.