World’s Tallest Church Is Being Ruined by Human Urine

Authorities in the German town of Ulm say late-night partygoers are destroying the Ulm Minster church— the tallest in the world—by constantly urinating on it. The city recently doubled fines to $109 for anyone caught peeing on the stone base of the 639-year-old church, but officials in charge of its maintenance say that has done little to stop the problem. “I’ve been keeping an eye on it for half a year now and, once again, it’s coated with urine and vomit,” Michael Hilbert, the church’s head of maintenance, told German newspaper Südwest Presse. “This is about preserving law and order,” he said. The church, with its 530-foot steeple, has already been damaged by late-night bathroom breaks, with the stone foundation being worn away by salts and acids in urine, officials said. Authorities fear the situation will only get worse throughout the Christmas holidays, so they have increased police patrols in the area and called for more public toilets to be installed. But one city spokeswoman told German media she didn’t think the problem would go away anytime soon, because “as long as there are people” the church will find itself acting as a urinal.