It was the scene of a horrific crime and a place of pilgrimage for onlookers, now it is a ruin: The former house of Armin Meiwes, who became known as the “Cannibal of Rotenburg”, was completely destroyed in a fire. The fire in the empty half-timbered house in East Hesse broke out on Monday night. The cause was initially unclear. The police did not rule out arson.
The flames have now been completely extinguished, said the police headquarters in East Hesse. The fire brigade guards the last embers and cleans up. Because of the heat, investigators were initially unable to get to the scene of the fire. This should happen later in the day. The Kripo Bad Hersfeld has taken over the investigation. Police estimate the property damage to be in the low six-figure range. The police were initially not aware of any major incidents around the property in the recent past.
The house in Rotenburg an der Fulda (Hersfeld-Rotenburg district) has been empty for years. The former resident of the house is in custody for murder and disturbing the peace of the dead. In 2001, the computer technician killed an Internet acquaintance, dismembered it and ate parts of the body – the case and the subsequent negotiations had caused a stir throughout Germany. Meiwes was arrested in December 2002.
After the building was destroyed, the mayor of Rotenburg spoke of a “terrifying end”. “The burnt ruins must be permanently removed. There must be no place of pilgrimage,” said Christian Grunwald on Monday of the German Press Agency. “As a city, we’re sending a clear signal that we’re going to clean up the whole thing permanently.” For this purpose, the city administration will seek talks with the owner or his representative.
According to Grunwald, the house belongs to Meiwes. In 2001, the computer technician killed an Internet acquaintance, dismembered it and ate parts of the body – the case and the subsequent negotiations had caused a stir throughout Germany. Meiwes was arrested in December 2002.
The destruction of the house will hopefully put an end to the “pilgrimages” of people who have regularly visited the empty half-timbered house for ritual reasons or out of curiosity, the CDU politician said. The constant visits from curious people and the whole situation were not easy for the city.
Some residents of Rotenburg may now take a deep breath that the house is no longer standing. However, Mayor Grunwald does not want to talk about “relief”. First of all, the most important thing is that the fire did not affect any property in the area and nobody was injured, he emphasized.
But now the “nuisance” should find a permanent end. “This is what we as a city and the neighbors deserve,” he said. The city will be happy if at some point there is no longer a connection between Rotenburg and the crime.
In March 2001, Meiwes made an appointment via the Internet with a 43-year-old engineer from Berlin in order to kill and eat him with his consent. At his express request, he first cut off his penis. He later stabbed him and partially ate him. The computer technician documented the act on a video lasting several hours.
In December 2002, Meiwes was arrested after the police, during a search of his house and property, discovered a freezer with frozen human flesh and traces of blood. The then 41-year-old confessed to the crime. He is serving his life sentence in Kassel. Preventive detention had not been imposed on him. Several requests for early release were rejected by the courts.
In the past 20 years, the case of cannibalism has been taken up in many ways in art and the media. This is how the German band Rammstein treats the crime in their song “Mein Teil”. In literary terms, the author Senthuran Varatharajah dealt with it in his novel “Rot (Hunger)” (2022). Numerous documentaries deal with the events.
Meiwes himself has also expressed himself in the media several times in the past. Around 2013 in an interview with the “Hessisch/Niedersächsische Allgemeine” (HNA). In it he described the events as abnormal. “Today I see things with completely different eyes. Back then there was a complete shift in normality due to years of surfing the Internet and looking for young men,” he said. “I definitely did the wrong thing. That would never happen again.”
