A statue of God the Father stolen from a chapel in Seeben in the municipality of Hürm (district of Melk) has turned up again after almost 31 years. According to police reports on Friday, investigators caught the figure when looking through auction offers. A 66-year-old from the Amstetten district, who had inherited the item from his parents, was identified as the owner. When and by whom the statue was acquired could no longer be determined.
The burglary in the chapel in Seeben was committed on December 10th or 11th, 1990. Investigations were unsuccessful until employees of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Department for Searching for Cultural Assets, discovered the figure, which had meanwhile changed slightly in appearance, and was about 60 centimeters high among various auction offers in the summer of the previous year. The value at the time was estimated by the police at 20,000 schillings (1,453.46 euros), the current value at 2,500 to 5,000 euros.
The item was seized on July 6, 2021. The 66-year-old owner waived his ownership claims. On Thursday, the statue was finally returned to the original owner, the Seeben community, by order of the Vienna public prosecutor’s office and blessed by the pastor.
Source: Nachrichten
