A trial of the theft of singer Udo Lindenberg's Porsche began on Wednesday in a Hamburg district court.
A 26-year-old man is charged with either stealing the luxury sports car himself from the underground car park of the Hamburg hotel "Atlantic" in July of last year or later taking it over from the unknown perpetrators as a stealer.
The theft of Lindenberg's car caused a stir nationwide.
Police officers discovered and confiscated the musician's Porsche 911R just a few days after the theft with forged number plates in Ahrensburg near Hamburg.
The car is a limited special model worth 600,000 euros.
According to the court, it remained unclear during the investigation whether the defendant stole the Porsche with other perpetrators from the underground car park of the luxury hotel himself or only took it over.
The defendant is said to have stolen three more cars
Accordingly, the accused was charged with joint commercial theft or, alternatively, joint commercial stolen goods.
At the same time, he is also charged with the alleged theft of three other cars.
In 2019, he and his accomplices are said to have broken into lockers in indoor swimming pools or opened them with counterfeit keys in order to get the keys.
Lindenberg is one of the most successful contemporary German artists.
The 75-year-old rock musician has lived in Hamburg for decades, where he resides in the luxury hotel "Atlantic" on the Alster.
Four dates are planned for the trial at the St. Georg District Court until October 6th. On the opening day, it should first be about the theft of Lindenberg's Porsche.
According to the court, the singer himself is not called as a witness.