The world’s tallest church tower is being destroyed by drunken revelers whose urine is eroding the Gothic building.

The skyline of the German city of Ulm, which sits on the River Danube in Baden-Wurttemberg, is dominated by the impressive 162-meter-tall steeple of Ulm Minster.

As well as drawing in the tourists who wish to take in the spectacular views of the Alps from the top, the tower has long attracted late-night revelers who relieve themselves at its base.

Officials have said that as a consequence, the 200-year-old building is being eroded by the salt and acids in the urine, Sudwest Presse reports.

The problem of “wildpinkler,” as it is known in Germany, has become so grave that earlier this year the city doubled fines to 100 euros for anyone caught urinating in public.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on it for half a year now and, once again, it’s coated with urine and vomit,” Michael Hilbert, the building’s head of maintenance, told the newspaper. “This is about preserving law and order.”

Hilbert said that with the festival season approaching and a wine festival and Christmas market due to take place in the Munsterplatz town square, organizers must provide public toilets.

However, a city spokeswoman said that “as long as there are people,” it will be difficult to curb the problem.

She told the paper that “the city does very well” in its efforts to stop the practice, with increased police patrols and joint work with event organizers to tackle the issue.

However, she admitted that the imposition of higher fines had not put a stop to the practice.

世界最高的教堂塔楼都快被狂欢醉鬼们的尿给毁了，这座哥特式建筑正日夜遭受尿液的腐蚀。

德国乌尔姆敏斯特大教堂耸立在巴登-符腾堡州多瑙河边上，它高达162米，直插云天，映衬着乌尔姆市的天际线，令人叹为观止。

正如外地游人慕名而来，期盼登上塔顶，一览阿尔卑斯山的绝佳风光一样，长期以来，教堂吸引着深夜的醉酒狂欢者们对着塔楼基座撒尿。

据《德国西南新闻报》报道，市政府官员们说，他们纵情的结果是，尿液中的盐分和酸性物质导致这座200年的教堂遭到侵蚀。

“随地小便”是德国的常见问题，如今正变得愈发严重，以至于今年早些时候市政府将罚款数额加倍，任何人只要被抓到在公共场所小便即被罚款100欧元。

“半年前我就持续关注这一问题，如今塔底上沾满了尿液和呕吐物。”维修负责人迈克尔•希尔伯特告诉记者。

希尔伯特说，节日快到了，葡萄酒节和圣诞集市将在市里的大教堂广场举行，组织者们必须提供公共厕所。

然而一名市政府女发言人说，只要是有人聚集的地方，这个问题就难以解决。

她告诉记者，在阻止这种行为上“市政府相当尽力”，他们已增派巡逻警员，并与活动组织者开展联合行动来解决这个难题。

不过她也承认，强制征收更高额的罚款并没能制止撒尿行为。(Chinadaily.com.cn)

    【狂欢的人】kuánghuán de rén reveler a person who is celebrating with other people in a wild and noisy way

    【腐蚀】fǔshí erode destroy by slow consumption or disintegration