Accident when 60 noble medieval nobles drowned in a toilet pit

In July 1184, several nobles gathered in a modern German church to settle a land dispute. Suddenly, the floor beneath them invaded, under which was the attic pit.

The so-called crash of the city of Erfurt is a strange mix of tragedy and comedy. Slightly cloudy historical sources tell of how the meeting of the nobles ended fatally, with 60 men drowning in the stool, according to All That Is Interesting.

"Potting" problems

The German city of Erfurt has existed since the 8th century AD and was originally part of the Roman Empire. Its legendary St. Petersburg citadel is deeply connected with the history of the city, and one of its structures - St. St. Peter's Church - is the place where the tragedy most likely took place.

The incident apparently involved many nobles and high-ranking officials, under whom the land literally opened up. However, before turning to a more detailed study of the future accident in the city of Erfurt, it is worth highlighting and understanding the historical context in which this tragedy took place.

At that time, Erfurt was ruled by King Heinrich VI of the Hoenstaufen dynasty. He was one of the German kings who ruled the area in the Middle Ages. It was a time of great political disagreement as feudal nobles and religious leaders of the Roman Catholic Church fought for power.

One conflict arose between the Archbishop of Mainz, Wittelsbach Conrad, and the Land of Thuringia, Ludwig III. It is not really clear what was at the root of the conflict, but it was most likely related to control of the territory.

Whatever the problem, it is believed that King Heinrich VI wanted to reconcile the two men in the end. He convened a meeting to which many nobles and high-ranking officials of the region were invited. If only the king had known what a nasty fate awaited them all ...

The future disaster of Erfurt in 1184

The historical details of this 12th century event are somewhat vague. Most historians believe that the meeting took place in St. In St. Peter's Church, other sources say it took place elsewhere. However, no one had any idea that day that the innocent meeting would end quite tragically.

It is estimated that a large group of elite representatives gathered in one of the church rooms. At the beginning of the meeting, the church floor, under which the monastery's attic pit was located, suddenly invaded. Historians who studied the event a few years ago wrote that many of the participants in the meeting were elected to the very depths of the future pit. At least 60 nobles drowned, but researchers think the figure could be higher. Significantly, Archbishop Ludwig did not suffer the incident by chance, as he and the king were in the far corner of the room, which did not invade. It is difficult to say whether the nobles were killed by the fall itself or whether they died by drowning.

In medieval Europe, the sewer systems were far from the ones we use today. At that time, the pit pits were built, where only an empty room happened. The system was simple - there was a hole in the floor, but under it - a pit, in which stool then accumulated.

Comings like St. St. Peter's Church was usually a little more complicated, but only slightly. The entrance hall was usually raised outside the wall - especially in castles. In this way, the toilet hole was located above a pit or ditch next to the building, but it also meant that the toilet pits were practically not emptied. In this case, the attic pit was just below the meeting room.

It is not known whether the conflict between the two men was resolved, but this tragedy remains one of the strangest and most frightening in the history of medieval Europe.