27. 07. 10. - 15:45

Stolen lance found in bank manager's flat 20 years on

A priceless lance stolen 20 years ago has been discovered in a bank manager’s flat.

The medieval weapon was pilfered from at Kreuzenstein Castle near Leobendorf in the province of Lower Austria in 1990.

Investigators, who never abandoned investigations into the 50,000-Euro object’s disappearance, have now found the spear in the Korneuburg flat of the bank manager.

Police said the weapon was removed from an armour chamber at the castle – a popular day trip destination – and placed in bushes outside its walls from where an accomplice picked it up.

The shamed bank manager, 49, admitted the lance had been placed in his branch as "a kind of trophy" for years before he took it home.

Investigations into who carried out the theft continue since the man denied having stolen the weapon himself.