"Wanted to get to the top"

Vienna: Cathedral porter knocked unconscious in the Steffl

The accused said that he had consumed alcohol for the first time in his life. Drunk, he climbed up to the Türmerstube.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Wolfgang Spitzbart, Gerhard Bartel)

After a drunken 27-year-old had harassed visitors in the south tower of Vienna's landmark, a dispute arose. After being beaten, the cathedral employee fell down the spiral staircase and only woke up in the church warden's office. A trial was held in Vienna.

The porter of the south tower of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna prefers to wait behind the glass door in the Landl. He didn't want to meet the man who had beaten him up on February 15 again. On that day, he was working in the tower's ticket office. After climbing 343 steps, visitors reach the Türmerstube and are rewarded with a breathtaking view over Vienna.

Scuffle in the south tower
The accused Chechen also went upstairs that morning and got into a scuffle. Back down again, the 27-year-old asked his later victim how he could get to the top of the tower? "You can't go up there," the doorman replied, but that didn't stop the accused from making his way up again.

The accused said that he had consumed alcohol for the first time in his life. Drunk, he climbed up to the Türmerstube.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Wolfgang Spitzbart, Gerhard Bartel)

The cathedral servant, who had been informed in the meantime that people were being harassed, followed him, pushed past him on the narrow spiral staircase and blocked his way. Suddenly, the accused threw two punches at the porter in the world-famous church. The victim fell down the steps and suffered a bruised skull and chest. "My client only woke up again in the church warden's office," says victim's representative Werner Tomanek.

I had a drink for the first time in my life.

Die Verantwortung des Angeklagten im „Landl“

The accused has gaps in his memory
"I had a drink for the first time in my life. I can't remember the incident very well. In any case, I'm very sorry," the confessed defendant affirmed during the trial. "The alcohol experiment went wrong," added his defense lawyer Marcus Januschke.

Victim representative Werner Tomanek paid 1000 euros in compensation.(Bild: Gerhard Bartel)

Because the defendant has no criminal record and has a job, Judge Stefan Erdei agreed to a diversion with a two-year probationary period. The repentant Domschläger handed over 1000 euros in compensation to the victim's representative.