Prompt Cast
The Erfurt-Latrine Disaster: A Peculiar Meeting Gone Wrong
TLDR In 1184, a meeting in Erfurt, Germany to settle a land dispute turned into a tragedy when the floor above a communal latrine collapsed, causing over a hundred nobles to fall into the cesspool below. The disaster remains one of the biggest in history, with many fatalities and an uncertain resolution to the land dispute.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
In 1184, a conflict between the Count of Thuringia and the Archbishop of Mans led to a disastrous meeting in Erfurt, Germany.
01:21
In 1184, a land dispute between the Count of Wistlebach and the Archbishop of Manns led to a peculiar event in Erfurt, Germany.
02:24
Heinrich VI of the Hosenstaufen dynasty, the king of Germany and son of Frederick Barbarossa, ordered the parties involved in the land dispute to assemble in the town of Ereford in Thuringia for a Deat to settle the issue.
03:22
On July 25th, 1184, the parties involved in the land dispute assembled at the Petersburg Citadel in Ereford, a monastery and fortification on top of a hill in Thuringia.
04:15
During a meeting at the monastery, the floor above the communal latrine collapsed, causing over a hundred nobles and the major parties in the dispute to fall into the cesspool below.
05:19
Between 60 to 100 people died and many more drowned in the cesspool when the floor of the latrine collapsed, while King Heinrich and Count Ludwig, who were sitting on separate stone floors, were stranded in their seats watching the disaster unfold below them, and Bishop Conrad miraculously survived the fall without drowning or getting any subsequent infections.
06:24
The king left Erfurt immediately after the disaster, and it is unclear if the land dispute was ever resolved, but the Erfurt-Latrine disaster remains one of the biggest disasters in human history.
