A moment of shock in Frankfurt's city centre: storm "Sabine", which caused relatively little damage in the Main metropolis, caused the jib of the structural engineering crane at the cathedral to fall onto the roof of the south transept on Monday night. As a result, the roof of the aisle has sustained significant damage to the eastern and western roof surfaces. The ridge structure has also been affected.
"Of course, the sight frightens you. Just glad no one was hurt. I did not imagine that this is so massive," said Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann. The cathedral has an immense significance, not only for people who are religious, but for all Frankfurt residents, said the city leader. It is one of the three most important buildings for the city, along with the Römer and the Paulskirche - after all, the imperial coronations took place here. "Of course, we all wish now that the damage is repaired as quickly as possible. There should be no lack of money for that," Feldmann said.
For mayor and church department head Uwe Becker, too, it's clear: "The cathedral is an important architectural monument of our European cultural history and Frankfurt's landmark." And he added: "Parallel to the investigations into how it could come to the collapse of the high-rise crane, we will assess the damage as quickly as possible. This will only be possible when the storm subsides. Our priority is to ensure that the damage caused is repaired promptly and that our Imperial Cathedral is soon restored to its full glory."
At this point in time, no concrete statement can be made regarding the extent of the damage. During Monday, the crane will be secured with the help of two truck-mounted cranes. In addition, a roofing company is trying to seal the damaged roof to prevent consequential damage from water seeping in. How quickly this work can be carried out depends on the weather conditions. For safety reasons, the damaged crane cannot be recovered until there is no longer any danger of a storm. According to current weather forecasts, this will not be the case until Wednesday, February 12, at the earliest.
"I am very relieved that no one was injured in the accident and that the surrounding residential buildings were not affected," said Jan Schneider, Department Head for Construction and Real Estate. "However, it is tragic for my staff in the Office of Construction and Real Estate that they have suffered such a setback after many years of good progress on the cathedral renovation. The roof that has now been so badly damaged has only just been re-roofed. In recent years we have proved that we can put the monument in a good state of repair. We will again tackle this task with commitment."
Especially annoying: the removal of the crane was scheduled for Thursday,February 13, as the roof and facade renovation of the nave and transept of the cathedral is largely completed. So a few days later, this accident could not have happened at all.
The cathedral remains closed until further notice. Due to the securing work, streets and sidewalks in the area of Krautmarkt and Weckmarkt are currently closed.
