500-year-old town hall burns down in small Bavarian town

The blaze left the 500-year-old building in west Bavaria largely gutted, after flames were first spotted shortly before 7pm and then quickly ripped through the building’s timber roof, the Süddeustche Zeitung reports.

Fire crews fought for two hours before they brought the flames under control. No one was injured in the fire, the cause of which was not immediately clear.

“Police investigators are at the scene, but they can’t go inside the building,” a police spokesperson said on Wednesday evening.

Investigators must now ascertain whether recent building work was responsible for the blaze. The building was still partially covered in scaffolding when the fire broke out.

This is the second fire in recent months to destroy an historical Bavarian town hall. In November, flames ripped through the 600-year-old town hall in the town of Straubing, causing more than €10 million worth of damage.

Article source: https://www.thelocal.de/20170727/500-year-old-town-hall-burns-down-in-small-bavarian-town