Failed theft

Destroyed maypole will now be replaced by the thieves

Video screenshot of the falling tree(Bild: Landjugend Wolfern)

The trunk of a maypole in Steyr (Upper Austria) broke in two when it was knocked over and police caught seven boys from the Wolfern rural youth group in the act. They were not allowed to remove their loot and had to justify themselves on suspicion of damaging property. In an interview with "Krone", the culprits announced that they wanted to replace the tree quickly. 

The idea to steal the maypole from the town of Steyr was born on a whim on Thursday night. "We drove to the town square shortly before midnight and saw that there were no cars in front of the tree - we wanted to take advantage of this opportunity," says Simon Mayr from Wolfern.

The tree lying on the road was secured by municipal employees, sawn into pieces and taken away(Bild: Magistrat Steyr)

The 23-year-old and six friends from his local rural youth group organized a trailer to transport the wooden booty away. They then stopped traffic for a short time, lifted the 24-metre-high tree out of its moorings and dropped it in the desired direction. A loud "plop" shook the town square.

It is perfectly normal for something to break when stealing a maypole. In such cases, the damage is then repaired or the tree is replaced.

Simon Mayr (23), Landjugend Wolfern

Unfortunately, the maypole from 2021 did not survive the event unscathed. "We saw that it was broken in two places. We wanted to take it away and either repair or replace it, but we were prevented from doing so," says Mayr.

Six police officers from the nearby guardroom stopped the action, took the boys' details and accused them of damaging property. "They thought we had broken the padlock on the anchoring."

If the police hadn't intervened, nobody would have noticed the damage because we would have completely restored everything.

Maibaumdieb Simon Mayr

Magistrate's staff arrived at 2 a.m., removed the tree from the road and set up safety fencing to prevent accidents. The trunk was then cut into four pieces and transported away.

The maypole remains before removal(Bild: Magistrat Steyr)

"Completely destroying a maypole and incurring costs for the taxpayer in the process has nothing to do with fun customs," says city boss Markus Vogl angrily. He is now demanding adequate replacements from the thieves. 
"Preparations are already in full swing," reassures Mayr in the "Krone" interview.