If you were watching earlier this year, you might have noticed an intriguing story that appeared in a number of places, including this one:
“Austrian Town Seeks Professional Hermit”
Some folks I know, unmarried and perhaps rather anti-social, might have been quite interested. (I suspect, however, that the successful applicant needed to be Roman Catholic).
Unfortunately, though, I read this morning in the British magazine The Week that the position has been filled:
“Saalfelden, Austria. Hermit appointed. A 58-year-old former artillery officer from Belgium has beaten 49 other applicants to become one of Europe’s last hermits. Stan Vanuytrecht [pictured with white beard, cap, and pipe], a divorced Catholic deacon who has worked with the homeless and drug addicts, was chosen by the town of Saalfelden to occupy its hermitage, which has hosted a hermit ever since its founding 350 years ago. Set on a cliff above the town, it has no heating, running water or internet. But the new hermit can’t expect total solitude: his duties include acting as a sympathetic ear for people who hike up to confide in him.”
Posted from Tel Aviv, Israel
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