Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 52 minutes ago
HOW DID A TOILET KILL a bunch of nobles in 12th century Germany? This is the story of the Erfurt latrine disaster, which occurred in 1184 in the town of Erfurt. Heinrich VI, King of Germany , son of Frederick Barbarossa and the future Holy Roman Emperor, stopped off in the town of Erfurt and held a meeting in its local church, St Peter’s, to settle a land dispute between Konrad, Bishop of Mainz and Ludwig, Landgrave of Thuringia Unfortunately, while they were all there (along with numerous other nobles), the wooden beams supporting the upper storey room they were in buckled under the weight and collapsed. The room was built over the top of the latrine pit (a latrine is a very basic kind of toilet, with no proper plumbing) where all the monks’ waste was. At least five nobles died either from the fall, or from drowning in excrement, or suffocating in the noxious fumes. Several only survived because they were standing or sitting at the edge of the room when the disaster occurred and were able to cling onto things like window grills until they were rescued. The dead included Heinrich de Swartzberg, Frederick de Abinberg, Frederick de Kerchberg, Gozmar de Ziegenhain, Burchard de Wartberg and Beringer of Meldingen. King Heinrich survived.
In this week’s royal history video from History Calling we look at this story, at the primary sources associated with it and at how trustworthy they are. I’ll also tell you what eventually became of Kaiser Heinrich VI.
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WHAT HAPPENED TO RICHARD III’S CORPSE?
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LEARN MORE:
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AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
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Thumbnail: Wellcome Collection, public domain
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
HOW DID A TOILET KILL a bunch of nobles in 12th century Germany? This is the story of the Erfurt latrine disaster, which occurred in 1184 in the town of Erfurt. Heinrich VI, King of Germany , son of Frederick Barbarossa and the future Holy Roman Emperor, stopped off in the town of Erfurt and held a meeting in its local church, St Peter’s, to settle a land dispute between Konrad, Bishop of Mainz and Ludwig, Landgrave of Thuringia Unfortunately, while they were all there (along with numerous other nobles), the wooden beams supporting the upper storey room they were in buckled under the weight and collapsed. The room was built over the top of the latrine pit (a latrine is a very basic kind of toilet, with no proper plumbing) where all the monks’ waste was. At least five nobles died either from the fall, or from drowning in excrement, or suffocating in the noxious fumes. Several only survived because they were standing or sitting at the edge of the room when the disaster occurred and were able to cling onto things like window grills until they were rescued. The dead included Heinrich de Swartzberg, Frederick de Abinberg, Frederick de Kerchberg, Gozmar de Ziegenhain, Burchard de Wartberg and Beringer of Meldingen. King Heinrich survived.
In this week’s royal history video from History Calling we look at this story, at the primary sources associated with it and at how trustworthy they are. I’ll also tell you what eventually became of Kaiser Heinrich VI.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
DEATH, MURDER AND CORPSES PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HqKJP-pwWUcP1OtH1hRvN4
WHAT HAPPENED TO RICHARD III’S CORPSE?
youtu.be/NpQZZanLaRM
CAN DNA IDENTIFY PRINCES IN THE TOWER?
youtu.be/awBM-t-cFQo
DIGGING UP ANNE BOLEYN AND OTHERS
youtu.be/EjCxVN7V6FA
THE STORY OF THE AMBER ROOM
youtu.be/DGvq4N1OhyE
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
LEARN MORE:
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Prime video or Audible trial. They are available from the following links:
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
Thumbnail: Wellcome Collection, public domain
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
