Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
VIENNA (AP) — A months-long international search by an Austrian town to find a new hermit has ended — and Stan's the man.
Mayor Erich Rohrmoser of Saalfelden, near Salzburg, says officials chose Belgian Stan Vanuytrecht, a former artillery officer, surveyor and a Roman Catholic deacon, because the bearded 58-year-old pipe smoker "emanates calm and comes across as steady."
Vanuytrecht is pleased — and surprised. More than 50 people applied, and state broadcaster ORF quotes him as saying "I thought I have no chance."
Built into a cliff, the more than 350-year-old hermitage near the town has no heat, no running water and is habitable only between April and November.
The hermit's unpaid job includes greeting pilgrims making the trek to the building, which has been empty since a Benedictine monk left last year.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.