Series of mishaps

The top of Steyr’s replacement maypole also broke off

When putting up the replacement tree, the top broke off.(Bild: Mader Klaus Fotografie)

On Friday, the Wolfern rural youth brought a 100-year-old, 27-metre-high spruce to replace the broken trunk. There was another unplanned incident during the erection of the new maypole: the top broke off and had to be reattached. Only on the second attempt did everything finally go smoothly.

The town of Steyr has had a maypole again since Friday - and tempers have also calmed down. After the attempted theft on Thursday night, when the (old) 24-metre-high spruce was broken, tempers ran high. However, the seven culprits caught by the police from Landjugend Wolfern responded promptly. "Of course we will pay for the damage," Simon Mayr assured the "Krone" newspaper.

Tree thief Simon Mayr (left) shaking hands with town boss Markus Vogl.(Bild: Mader Klaus Fotografie)

On Friday, the replacement tree - a 27-metre high, 100-year-old, beautifully decorated spruce - was ready to be put up on Steyr's town square. Unfortunately, this did not work out as planned.

The small tree attached to the top broke off and had to be reattached. Mayr: "Nothing tragic - we took a reconciliation beer with us, we'll make up for it with a snack." After the second attempt to erect the tree, everything finally went as planned. 

The replacement maypole had to be repaired.(Bild: Mader Klaus Fotografie)

Broken tree in Eferding too
In Wels and Eferding, the infamous maypole crew from Neufelden was on tour again after 2018. As in Steyr, the tree broke in two during the theft in Eferding. City boss Christian Penn initially announced angrily that he did not want to pay any compensation. "However, he has since come down off his high horse and now wants to negotiate," says Crew boss Christian Mühleder. The tree will be replaced, but he kept a low profile on further demands: "Our motto is that May makes everything new."

The campaign in Wels went more smoothly - the tree remained intact there. Mühleder: "The negotiations went well. It will be back in Wels by Wednesday at the latest, provided we get a proper snack and a beer."