Vanished into the Crowd - Hypo Bank, Residenzplatz 7
On Thursday 20 October 2022, at twenty to three in the afternoon, an armed man in a black FFP2 mask walked into the Hypo Salzburg bank on the Prince Archbishops' grand square, threatened the staff, demanded cash and dissolved into the old town tourist crowds. Despite a helicopter, assault rifles and published CCTV images, he was never named.
About this place
Residenzplatz is the ceremonial heart of Salzburg: the fifteen metre Residenzbrunnen, carved between 1656 and 1661, the cathedral facade, the Glockenspiel tower of the Neue Residenz and, on the north side at number 7, the head office of Hypo Salzburg, a bank that has sat here since 1956. On the afternoon of 20 October 2022 that quiet counter became a crime scene. At about 14:40 a man roughly 1.85 metres tall, in a light pullover, checked trousers, a white and orange cap and a black FFP2 mask, stepped in, pointed what police believe was a pistol at the employees, demanded cash and walked out again with an undisclosed sum. He simply merged with the shoppers and sightseers on the square, and his trail ended there. Officers with assault rifles sealed off the old town while a police helicopter circled overhead, the Red Cross crisis team cared for the shaken staff, and a week later the Landeskriminalamt published six surveillance images in the hope that someone would recognise the man who spoke in a plain Austrian dialect. It was at least the sixth armed robbery to hit the city since early September that year, a wave that struck petrol stations, a supermarket, a hotel reception and two banks. Other robbers from that autumn were caught and sentenced; the man from Residenzplatz, as far as the public record shows, never was.
Key facts
- 2022 year — On Thursday 20 October 2022 at about 14:40 an armed man robbed the Hypo Salzburg branch at Residenzplatz 7 and escaped into the old town crowds.
- 6 armed robberies — The bank raid was at least the sixth armed robbery in the city of Salzburg since early September 2022, a series that hit petrol stations, a supermarket, a hotel and two banks.
- 1.85 metres tall — The only hard leads were the CCTV stills: a tall man in a light pullover, checked trousers, a white and orange cap and a black FFP2 mask who spoke Austrian dialect.
📍 Residenzplatz, 5020, Salzburg