“It just happened”

Major Restaurant Fire: Tenant and Accomplice Convicted!

In early June 2025, the inn burned down. The trial took place in Innsbruck on Monday.(Bild: Rotes Kreuz Innsbruck, Christof Birbaumer, Krone KREATIV)

Following the fire at the historic Innsbruck inn “Stieglbräu” last June, the 37-year-old tenant of the establishment and his “accomplice” stood trial on Monday at the Innsbruck Regional Court. Both defendants pleaded guilty at the start of the trial. The verdicts were handed down in the early afternoon! Both received 3.5 years in prison; the sentences are not yet final!

The first defendant, the “accomplice,” was charged with the crime of arson; the second defendant, the tenant, was charged with incitement to commit arson as well as the offense of aggravated fraud.

“Carried away by solidarity”
“I am here because of something very terrible,” said the first defendant during his questioning, visibly moved. Anything other than “pleading absolutely guilty” was therefore unthinkable for him, added the 44-year-old Bulgarian.

He stated that at the time he had, among other things, “financial problems” and had been “carried away by the crime out of solidarity with his longtime friend.” The friend had given him 5,000 euros to carry out the crime with another person, he stated before the judge and the jurors.

The defendants were escorted into the courtroom by court officers.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

“Didn’t Want to Believe It”
The second defendant, in turn, argued that the landlord’s threat to evict him from the restaurant, his cocaine addiction, and financial hardships had driven him to commission the arson. “It was an emotional time, and I didn’t want to accept that I had to leave the restaurant,” said the former restaurateur, who, like the first defendant, is currently in pretrial detention and is also from Bulgaria. The tenant had vehemently denied the crime in the run-up to the trial—unlike his compatriot.

“It was an emotional time, and I didn’t want to accept that I had to leave the restaurant.”

Der angeklagte Pächter

Drug addiction and these emotions had, in any case, led to the point in June where it ultimately “just happened.” However, he had not wanted “anyone to get hurt,” nor had he intended to commit fraud. “It was simply a bad decision,” said the 37-year-old, while also admitting that he had filed a claim with his insurance company after the fire for damages totaling 190,000 euros. Both defendants faced up to ten years in prison.

Three and a half years of unconditional imprisonment
The verdict was handed down early in the afternoon. Both defendants were sentenced to three and a half years of unconditional imprisonment. The verdict is not yet final. The defense attorneys for the two men waived their right to appeal, while the prosecutor made no statement.

Prior to this, the judge explained the verdict, which she had reached after about 30 minutes of deliberation with the jurors. “Although both defendants confessed remorsefully, one must not lose sight of the fact that the fire also endangered residents in the building,” said the judge. Only through the intervention of the fire department “was even greater damage prevented,” she emphasized. Overall, a sentence “in the lower third” of the ten-year sentencing range is “appropriate to the guilt and the offense.”

Well-known restaurant frequented by celebrities
The fire had broken out in the middle of the night; massive flames engulfed the outdoor dining area in the courtyard. Eight residents were evacuated from the apartments above. Five of them, including two children, were taken to the hospital with suspected smoke inhalation.

Over the decades, the “Stieglbräu” restaurant, located not far from the Landhaus, had also become a popular gathering place for celebrities, especially from the political sphere. Tyrol’s legendary, late long-time governor Eduard Wallnöfer (ÖVP), for example, was a regular guest. The iconic soccer coach Ernst Happel also enjoyed spending time there during his time in Tyrol in the late 1980s and early 1990s.