Buyers have been queuing up to view the former open-air museum village of Allingawier in Friesland, part of which has been put up for sale.

Several listed restored farmhouses, a restaurant, a former smithy and space to build six more houses can now be had for just over €1.5 million. Together, the Kerkbuurt buildings and land cover an area of 2.5 hectares.

The village, said to date back to before 1270, has a population of just 80 and is build on a terp, or a raised piece of land, to keep it dry.

The former tourist attraction was bought by three friends some two years ago. But it has been put back up for sale because the plans they had for the village would interfere too much with their other jobs, Hylke Jan Tholen, one of the owners, told local broadcaster Omrop Friesland.

“You have to give it 100% or it won’t work,” he told the broadcaster. The Kerkbuurt had been on the market earlier as a business venture but proposals were slow to develop into anything concrete, Tholen said. “We didn’t have the time to wait and we didn’t want the properties to stand empty for years on end.”

Viewing requests have been pouring in from across the country from the moment the Kerkbuurt appeared on real estate site Funda, even though it is not classed as a residential area and the council has yet to issue a permit for the houses to be lived in.

“We already have 20 to 30 viewings lined up for this week and we’re planning an open day on March 7,” Tholen said.

The current owners have said they will only consider buyers who respect the historical buildings, some of which have listed status. “But we are open to everything else,” he said.

According to real estate brokers Duinstra en Melis, who are handling the property, the Kerkbuurt could appeal to care institutions or a group of families who want to buy together.