Officials in the German city of Ulm are urging the public to stop urinating on the walls of Ulm Minster, the world’s tallest church.
According to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), church officials said the constant flow of people urinating and vomiting on the walls of the church is eroding the sandstone base because of the salts and acids in the bodily fluid.
The broadcaster reported city officials tried to cut the stream of people urinating on the structure by doubling the fines to $144 ($100€) for those caught relieving themselves on the historic church.
Speaking with Suedwest Presse, the head of the maintenance company responsible for preserving the Gothic church architecture, said not much has changed since the doubling in fines.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on it for half a year now and, once again, it’s coated with urine and vomit,” quoted Michael Hilbert as saying. “I am not the pee police, but this is about preserving law and order.”
According to the Ulm Minster Building Authority, construction began on the world’s largest Protestant church in 1377 and was completed in 1890. The main tower spire stands 161 metres tall and features several stone gargoyles.
Hilbert told German media that part of the problem is the amount of yearly festivals held in and around the church, claiming festival organizers are not providing enough portable toilets.
It appears Ulm isn’t the only German city with a urine problem. Last year, Reuters news agency reported some building owners in Hamburg were using a special water-repellant paint on some buildings in the city’s club district.
A local interest group applied the paint on two especially frequented buildings in the renowned nightclub district near the city’s port to deter “Wildpinkler” or “wild urinator” as Germans call them.
Apparently the paint repels the urine, bouncing the stream right back at the tinkler.
“This paint job sends a direct message back to perpetrators that their wild urinating on this wall is not welcome,” Julia Staron, who organized the group, told Reuters. “The paint protects the buildings and the residents and most importantly it sends a signal this behaviour is not on.”
Staron admitted to the news agency the paint is a little pricey, costing about $725 ($500€) to paint a six-square metre area.
“If you compare the work involved for daily cleaning of the mess and the awful smell, as well as all the collateral damage involved, it has definitely been well worth it,” Staron told Reuters.
-with a file from Reuters.
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