A 76-year-old tourist collapsed in the tower of St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna and was rescued from the landmark Gothic building with the help of a rope.
The visitor planned to climb up to the popular viewing point in the South Tower of the cathedral known as the Türmerstube on Friday when he collapsed at a height of around 70 metres, the fire and rescue services said.
After others alerted the emergency services, the man was first given medical treatment and then abseiled down on a stretcher by specialized rescue workers from the Vienna Fire Brigade through a ceiling opening inside the South Tower.
They knew what to do there because their height rescue team uses the cathedral as a training ground, a spokesman for the fire brigade told dpa.
The 76-year-old was taken to hospital. The emergency services did not provide any information about his origin.
The medieval St Stephen's Cathedral, or Stephansdom in German, is one of the most visited sights in the Austrian capital. To reach the Türmerstube, visitors have to climb 343 steps up a narrow winding staircase.