Obviously, a flash of lightning did this to the tree. The cut wood was fresh, and the only explanation I've got for the tree not catching fire is that it was not raining but pouring at the time.
Similarly obviously that this might not have been the flash which cut me off from the net. Or is it now? There's a power line nearby this tree which might have been overloaded by the flash.
And if you're wondering why there should go a power line straight through a national park, remember that Vienna still is a megacity (well - kind of, to be honest): and Lobau is a nature reserve only since 1978. The airport of Schwechat also is very near to the national park and oftentimes airplanes do their vertical flight after the start right over the national park, the planes being low enough to be heard loudly.
