After a lightning strike that hit the parish church of St. Michael in Langenpettenbach last Friday, the large church is closed until further notice.
The tremendous energy of the lightning caused damage to the tower roof.
Langenpettenbach
– The fuse box on the back of the church was also destroyed.
There was also damage to the interior of the church.
How to proceed and when the church can be used again will be decided by an expert report, which is still pending.
One thing is certain: the church tower and church roof were equipped with several lightning rods.
The Archbishop's Ordinariate was taken over by Pastor Dr.
Stephan Hauptmann was informed immediately after the incident became known.
The first to hear the loud bang and see the lightning rushing into the church tower were young boys who had been at the maypole guard just a few meters from the impact.
The extent of the damage to the church is not yet clear.
However, it is likely that the powerful lightning struck the church tower and caused damage to the tower roof.
This is evidenced by the widely scattered parts of the roof that ended up in the cemetery and beyond.
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Lightning raged in the interior: the writing stand in the church was swept away.
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The lightning also raged violently inside the church.
Writing stands fell over, cracks and some smoke appeared on the eastern outer wall and on the doors of the fuse box, which were torn out by the lightning strike.
The tower clock stopped.
The soul service for a funeral this Friday must now be held outdoors in front of the morgue.
Pastor Hauptmann is worried about when the church can be used again, because there are big church events such as First Communion and Confirmation.
According to Hauptmann, it is “not easy at all” to switch to other churches for these festivals.