They were able to spend the night in a Belgian cathedral. Now they have to clear 538 steps
Two relatives bought a ticket to visit one of the tallest towers in the country and managed to stay there until the final hour.
After escaping the Ikea store they managed to get stuck in, Ryan Joostens and Robbe Boeckx wanted to do more and better. This is not the first time the two cousins have posted videos of such feats, but this time they wanted to up the difficulty level.
The guys decided to spend a night in St. Rumbold’s Cathedral, located in the city of Mechelen, Belgium – but they already regretted it. Now they will have to face the consequences.
A video posted on YouTube on August 8 — with the caption “Night in the highest tower of Belgium” (literally “Night in the highest tower of Belgium”, in Portuguese) – shows the two testing the defenses of Saint-Rombostoren. It is not the tallest in Belgium as they say in the video, but at 97.28 meters it is the sixth tallest church tower in the country. And a busy tourist destination.
Despite the many cameras, the two go unnoticed. They even climb to the top of the tower without noticing the safety. At dawn, when it’s too cold to sleep, Ryan and Robbie search for an exit and even find a box with a key. There is some climbing involved, but throughout the adventure the youngsters are not discovered.
“The bottom line: no one checks that everyone has left the building, no alarm, no one watches the cameras, and the keys to the tower are easily found,” concludes Ryan. “A message to everyone watching: Don’t try to do this alone.”
Of course, it didn’t take long for the authorities to discover their ineptitude Two young men. Belgian newspaper “HLN” recounts that Ryan and Rob bought tickets to visit the monument and hid to stay inside after closing time. They spent the night in the building and recorded the entire process.
They were not discovered at the time, but now everyone knows. After all, the video was posted on the Internet for all to see.
The city of Mechelen still considered legal action, but the tower’s curator, Arthur Orléans, opted for an alternative permit: “If they clean 538 steps, we don’t charge”he told “HLN.”
Both adventurers were confronted with the proposal and readily accepted it. Even Ryan Justens said he thought the sentence was appropriate. “Because what we did was wrong. We are doing some kind of penance and helping people,” he declared.
Arthur Orléans told a Belgian newspaper that the safety of the building is being investigated.
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”