Theft at the Cathedral St. Sebastian in Magdeburg
Around 3:00 a.m. on June 8, 2020, Sister Adelgitt heard banging on the sidewalk in front of St. Sebastian's Cathedral in downtown Magdeburg. Early the next morning it was clear what she had heard. Unknown thieves had stolen two bronze wings from the 'Angel Gate' which stands in front of the 'Gate of Paradise' at the west entrance of the cathedral. Since this is not the first time that parts of the gate were stolen, the remaining sections of the gate have now been secured by welding them together. A few days later, police received a tip from a witness who had found sawn-up bronze pieces near a garden property in the Fermersleber Elbweg between the two Salbker See lakes. They were later identified as the stolen parts. Narcotics were found on an adjacent property.
The joy over the reappearance of the bronze parts lasted only for a short time. "They had already been sawn into small pieces. Unfortunately, nothing more could be saved," said diocesan spokeswoman Susanne Sperling and reported further that the public prosecutor's office was preparing a trial against three suspected perpetrators. The diocese is considering appearing as joint plaintiff.
Police spokeswoman Heidi von Hoff does not confirm the diocese spokeswoman's statement regarding preparations for the trial. Not much is known about the police investigation. She only states: "The investigations into the proceedings in connection with the bronze figures are still ongoing, there are investigative approaches which are currently still being pursued.
Others would not have been confirmed. One narcotics case is in the "active processing" phase. Unfortunately, she cannot provide further information on the ongoing proceedings for reasons of investigation tactics, she says.
The loss of a part of the angel's gate hurts the diocese, according to diocesan spokeswoman Susanne Sperling."It's not just non-ferrous metal theft, it's art theft."
Jürgen Suberg, the artist who created the Gate in 1987, has since been informed of the robbery. "Unfortunately, he no longer has a mold from the gate," says Susanne Sperling. "That's why he wants to come to Magdeburg to take an impression of the remaining angels so that he can make a new gate from it. But it is still unclear how the replacement can be financed," says the diocesan spokeswoman.
Suberg made the angels in GDR times by order of Bishop Johannes Braun. The Bishop wanted the angels as a ''bulwark against communism.''
In 2014, parts of the Gate of Paradise -- also made of bronze -- had been sawn off by unknown persons. Sister Adelgitt was also a witness at that time. "They stood on Cain and Abel, held onto the Tree of Paradise and sawed off the animals at Noah's Ark."
Sources: Volksstimme and Volksstimme
Photo of Angel Gate before theft, Polizeirevier Magdeburg