Vienna in a state of emergency: St. Stephen's Cathedral closed due to suspicious backpack!

Vienna in a state of emergency: St. Stephen's Cathedral closed due to suspicious backpack!

The situation is escalating in Vienna! After the police sealed off Vienna Central Station on Monday due to a threat, another security emergency was reported at St. Stephen's Cathedral on Tuesday evening. The city's iconic landmark, also known as "Steffl", was surrounded and completely cordoned off by officials, as today.at reported.

The reason for the rapid deployment was an abandoned and suspicious backpack that was discovered in the area of ​​the church. The police and service dog units were on site, while passers-by stayed behind the barriers. However, the all-clear was given at 10 p.m. and it was confirmed that there was never any danger. The incidents in recent days make the atmosphere in Vienna seem tense after the main train station was evacuated on Monday, which required dozens of police and emergency services.

Background and concerns

Concerns about possible terrorist activity in the city are not unfounded. As early as the end of 2023, the area around Cologne Cathedral had to be closed due to suspicious information that pointed to a possible attack by an Islamist terrorist cell. Some of these tracks led as far as Vienna, which explains the authorities' current state of alert exxpress.at.

In addition to the terror warnings, there was another incident on Tuesday evening in which a drunk driver crashed a van into the Plague Column and tried to escape while shouting "Allahu Akbar," according to witnesses. The police were able to arrest the driver, which further strained the security situation in the city.