On 26 July 1186, the King of Germany and later Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI called a diet in Erfurt to settle a feud between two of his most powerful vassals. The meeting was held on the second floor of the church provost's office, but shortly after it began, the wooden floor collapsed under the weight of the assembled notables.
The falling guests then crashed through the ground floor into the latrine cesspool below, where many drowned in the liquid excrement. In total, around 60 people are said to have been killed in the Erfurt latrine disaster, including several counts.
King Henry VI himself survived the incident uninjured and clean, because he was seated in an alcove with a stone floor that did not collapse.
