ew a cess pit. -The Erfurt latrine disaster occurred on July 26, 1184, in Erfurt, Germany, when a gathering of nobles caused the floor of the building to collapse into a cesspit, killing approximately 60 to 100 people. King Henry VI (later Holy Roman Emperor) was holding a Hoftag (court day) to mediate a land dispute between Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia and Archbishop Conrad of Mainz. A large number of nobles were assembled on an upper floor. The aging wooden floor beams, possibly rotten, could not support the combined weight of the attendees and their entourage, causing the floor to give way. The people on the upper floor plunged through the collapsing ground floor into the large underground latrine cesspit filled with accumulated human waste. Sources estimate that between 60 and 100 people died. Causes of death included the fall itself, being crushed by debris, drowning in the liquid excrement, or asphyxiation from the noxious fumes (likely high concentrations of ammonia). King Henry VI and Archbishop Conrad miraculously survived by taking refuge in a sturdy stone window alcove, where they clung on until rescuers with ladders could reach them. Landgrave Louis III also survived the fall and was rescued. The disaster is considered one of the most bizarre and tragic accidents of the Middle Ages, primarily due to the grotesque manner of death and the high social status of the victims. Pictures: AI generated picture of the event and the Petersburg Citadel, site of the disaster, today