Police in Trondheim have arrested a man in his 40s after he was caught tagging one of the country’s most revered and historic buildings from the Middle Ages: Nidaros Cathedral. His vandalism is being viewed as especially serious, claimed prosecutors, given the cathedral’s historic, national and religious value.
The man, who has a police record, was described as aggressive and potentially violent. Police managed to quickly subdue him, but not before he’d spray-painted various offensive slogans and numbers including “666” and the word “Hitler” on the entry doors and centuries-old walls of the cathedral.
“This is very sad,” Bjørgvin Thorsteinsson, who’s been leading ongoing restoration projects at the cathedral, told state broadcaster NRK. It also upset passersby of all ages, “but reminds us that we live in an uneasy world,” Thorsteinsson said.
The man was quickly jailed and then put into the custody of mental health authorities. Thorsteinsson said he thinks it will be possible to remove his tagging, “in the most careful manner possible.”
NewsinEnglish.no staff
