<em>Death of St. Rosalia</em> by František Tkadlík
Death of St. Rosalia by František Tkadlík Ablakok/CC BY-SA 4.0

For more than three hundred years, a statue of the Roman Catholic Saint Rosalia has been a fixture of the Austrian town of Neusiedl am See. Last week, the beloved statue was beheaded. A neighbor reported the news to the local police last Friday, assuming the culprits to be either vandals or reckless kids.

On Wednesday, local police revealed the person responsible: a sculptor.

Turns out, the town had hired someone to restore the statue back in June. But news of the plan never reached the public, and when the restorer removed the head and brought it to his workshop to have it cleaned, residents were alarmed.

On Thursday, the town council will reclaim the statue head before deciding what to do with it next.