Looted Religious Artifacts: A Stolen Scandal
Jump to surprises - Drama unfolds at St. Jakob's Protestant church. Valuable items estimated at over 1800 € go missing. Since April 2022, six relics of torment have vanished from the grasp of the towering bronze angels.
During a church tour just a few weeks back, a group observed an unsettling discrepancy. The angels no longer clutched their instruments of torment.
In question: the Christ monogram, the crucified Christ: whip, crown of thorns, hammer, nails, and the cross itself.
Pastor Roland Thie (59) is left in shock. "We hope these tools will resurface and the miscreant returns them. We bear no grudges."
Now they face a challenge: new relics must be secured. This time, they don't take any chances. The new tools are securely affixed to the angels.
Originally, these imposing figures resided on the altar. However, since 1980, they have been stationed on the church wall. These bronze angels hail from St. Lawrence Church in Nuremberg. The 180+-year-old angels are temporarily loaned from renowned architect, sculptor, and curator Carl Alexander von Heideloff (1789-1865), a renowned advocate of neo-Gothic art.
Pastor Roland Thie: "Recent outbursts in the church led to a Bible's theft and loose screws. The church closing became necessary due to data protection precautions. It's only been open during daylight for a few weeks."
The six vanished relics remain a mystery. It's unclear if they went missing some time ago or if they were recently taken.
The Altdorf police inspectorate encourages any relevant witnesses to contact them at (09187) 9500-0.
