Church in Hochheim Vandalized

Case information
Incident date
Country
Germany
Place
Hochheim
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Vandalism (all)
  • Vandalism of Church
Place of Incident
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Pattern or Frequency of Attacks
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
  • Time/Place/Location
  • Victim/Witness Perception
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated
Image credit: Sehnerv, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Three years after the arson in a confessional in the church St. Peter and Paul in Hochheim, one or more unidentified perpetrators damaged several hymnals, tore pages from the Gospel book on the side altar, and smashed the Easter candle. The stand containing religious literature was destroyed and holy water was dumped out.

Although the damage was much less than it had been from the arson three years earlier after which valuable frescoes had to be rehabilitated for hundreds of thousands of euros, the community was shocked by this incident and expressed concerns about how to keep the church secure.

Damage was estimated at several hundred euros and police began an investiation.

Sources