Church set on fire

Children set fire to Feldkirch church

The Florianis were able to extinguish the fire in the Liebfrauenkirche quickly.(Bild: Feuerwehr Feldkirch-Stadt)

On Saturday morning, a twelve-year-old boy and an as yet unknown friend went on a rampage in the Liebfrauenkirche church in Feldkirch: On the one hand, the two acted as arsonists, and on the other, they tried their hand at thievery.

The two boys entered the church shortly before 11.30 am. The first thing they did was search the donation boxes in the chancel for cash, which were unlocked. Then they used a lighter to set fire to the cloth covering the altar in three places. They then set fire to two unspecified objects directly behind the altar. The flames immediately spread to the carpeting and subsequently also damaged a wooden structure underneath.

The church was then ventilated with special equipment.(Bild: Feuerwehr Feldkirch-Stadt)

Fortunately, a churchgoer noticed the fire and immediately alerted the fire department. The firefighters quickly brought the fire under control and then ventilated the church. The material damage is considerable, probably around 20,000 euros. But it could have been far worse: Irretrievable artifacts and relics were also stored on the altar table - and their value is in the mid five-digit euro range, according to the police.

The police have already identified one of the two perpetrators, a twelve-year-old boy, but his "partner in crime" has not yet been positively identified.