Thieves loot treasure room of German museum: 'Largest art heist in post-war history'
Burglars struck this morning at historical museum Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) in Dresden, Germany, and stole antique jewelry. According to German media, this could well be "the biggest art heist in post-war history. The perpetrators fled.
The perpetrators destroyed a display case this morning around 5 a.m. - according to surveillance footage - and stole three diamond jewelry sets from the eighteenth century. These included a set with 20 parts and one with 37 parts. According to German newspaper Bild , the jewels are worth a billion euros, but general director of the museum Marion Ackermann cannot express the value precisely. She says the material value is much lower than the cultural value.
The director informed a called press conference that the stolen jewelry was not insured. They had belonged to the state of Saxony for so long and then, according to her, it is normal that at some point they are no longer insured. According to Ackermann, the security service was in the building during the theft, but could not prevent the robbery and the perpetrators managed to escape.
Inestimable value
The perpetrators, according to police, knew exactly where to go. "We are shocked by the brutality of this burglary," the museum director said at a press conference. The perpetrator or perpetrators struck in the historical part of the collection. This includes the treasury of Elector August the Strong (1670-1733). There alone were at least 3,000 art objects "of inestimable value.
German media report that the burglars may have sabotaged the electricity supply and then climbed through a window. CCTV footage shows two burglars. "We are still working to make the various video recordings readable and evaluable," said police chief Volker Lange. During the afternoon, the images of the perpetrators will be published.
The perpetrators took only jewelry. Larger objects such as vases and paintings they left behind. The museum is world famous for its art treasures. It houses thousands of jewelry and objects made of gold, silver or other valuable materials. One of the most valuable pieces in the collection is currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It is the so-called green diamond of Dresden, a unique stone of 41 carats.
Continue reading "Thieves loot treasure trove" in: Algemeen Dagblad
