"The animal basically did a tour of the hall, the kitchen and the living room before leaving the building," said Paul Kemen, a spokesman for police in the western city of Aachen on Monday.

"It came in the back and went out the front."

None in the family were injured, but the bull laid waste to furnishings, causing an estimated 10,000 euros ($15,600) of damage, police said.

The bull left after the owner of the house opened the front door for it.

The red-brown Limousin bull was part of a herd of cattle that had escaped from a farmer and overrun a section of the nearby town of Monschau.

A huntsman later shot the animal.

Nampa-Reuters

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