All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

The reconstructed Amber Room. 	Source: Public Domain

The Majestic Amber Room that Went Missing From Charlottenburg Palace

Print

The gleaming yellow gold hue of amber is one of nature’s wonders and one which has been sought after and admired for centuries. It is perhaps for this reason that the precious fossilized tree resin was used by European craftsmen in the 18 Th century to create an ornately decorated chamber that was fit for royalty. Due to its magnificent beauty and the intricacy of its design, the Amber Room, which combined amber, gold, and precious stones, was once regarded as the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’. However, the spectacular chamber was hurriedly packed up into crates during WWII and was never seen again, leading some on a quest to recover the missing treasure.

Functionality Through the Ages: The Amber Room's Role in Russian Imperial Life

The Amber Room was originally installed in Charlottenburg Palace, which was the home of Frederick I, the first King in Prussia. The room was designed by the German baroque sculptor, Andreas Schlüter, and the Danish amber craftsman, Gottfried Wolfram. Construction of the Amber Room began in 1701 and was completed in 1711. During a state visit to Prussia, the Amber Room caught the eye of the Tsar of Russia, Peter the Great. Interestingly, during Peter’s visit, the Amber Room was actually incomplete, as Frederick William was more interested in martial matters, and did not continue the work on the Amber Room when he inherited the throne of Prussia. Nevertheless, Peter’s interest in the Amber Room meant that Frederick William had the opportunity to gain the favor of the Tsar of Russia. Thus, Frederick William presented the Amber Room to Peter in 1716 in order to cement the newly-formed Prussian-Russian alliance against Sweden.

Tsar of Russia, Peter the Great. (Public Domain)

Tsar of Russia, Peter the Great. (Public Domain)

The Amber Room was shipped to Russia in 18 large boxes, where it was installed in the Winter House in St. Petersburg as part of a European art collection. In 1755, Tsarina Elizabeth had the Amber Room moved to the Catherine Place in Pushkin, named Tsarkoye Selo (Tsar’s Village). As the Amber Room was placed in a larger area, the Italian designer, Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli was employed to redesign the room using additional amber shipped from Berlin. Rastrelli’s work was the first of several renovations of the Amber Room by the Russians. When these renovations were completed, the room covered an area of about 180 square feet (16.72 sq m), and was decorated with six tonnes of amber and other semi-precious stones.

Spectacular craftsmanship in the reconstructed Amber Room. (Public Domain)

Spectacular craftsmanship in the reconstructed Amber Room. (Public Domain)

Over the years, the Amber Room was used by the Russian tsars for a variety of functions. Elizabeth, for instance, used the room as a private meditation chamber, while Catherine the Great used it as a gathering room. Alexander II, said to be an amber connoisseur, used it as a trophy room.

The reconstructed Amber Room in Catherine Palace. (giggle/CC BY 3.0)

The reconstructed Amber Room in Catherine Palace. (giggle/CC BY 3.0)

In 1941, Nazi Germany, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, invaded Russia. When the Amber Room was found by the German soldiers, it was torn down, packed into 27 crates, and sent to Königsberg. There, it was reinstalled in Königsberg’s castle museum. Although the Amber Room was on display for the following two years, the war not going well for the Germans, and the museum’s director, Alfred Rohde, was advised to dismantle the room and crate it away. Less than a year later, Allied bombing raids destroyed the city of Königsberg, and the castle museum was left in ruins. After that, the trail of the Amber Room simply vanishes.

Königsberg Castle, 1925. Several theories regarding the fate of the Amber Room have been suggested, such as the possibility of its destruction during the bombing of the city of Königsberg. (Public Domain)

Königsberg Castle, 1925. Several theories regarding the fate of the Amber Room have been suggested, such as the possibility of its destruction during the bombing of the city of Königsberg. (Public Domain)

Yet, not everyone is ready to accept that the Amber Room is lost forever. Some believe that the Amber Room was safely hidden by the Germans prior to the destruction of the castle museum. Thus, there have been attempts to track down this treasure. Still, these treasure hunts have not produced results, and the hunt continues.

Hopes of Finding the Amber Room Continue

The discovery of hidden railway tracks and wagon wheels, at the site of concrete bunkers, the headquarters of Hitler's German Army Supreme Command, sparked excitement among treasure hunters in 2023.  Staff from Mamerki museum posted an image on social media, raising speculation about the Amber Room's possible presence. The location, known as Hitler's former military command center in Poland, near his Wolf's Lair bunker, was previously considered a hiding place for the missing masterpiece. 

Images of an unknown track found in Mamerki, prompting questions about the Amber Room's potential presence. (Mamerki Bunkry "Miasto Brygidy"/Facebook)

Images of an unknown track found in Mamerki, prompting questions about the Amber Room's potential presence. (Mamerki Bunkry "Miasto Brygidy"/Facebook)

This Nazi-era German train buried at the site, reminiscent of the 2015 Gold Train search near Wałbrzych in Lower Silesia, is believed by some to possibly contain the Amber Room, known as the Eighth Wonder of the World. Limited by their search permit, however, researchers could only use shovels, emphasizing the need for further exploration.

 In 2004, after 24 years of work, a reconstruction of the Amber Room was completed in the Tsarkoye Selo, and dedicated by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder. Until the original Amber Room is found, if it still exists, this reconstruction is perhaps the closest that we will get to experiencing the magnificence of the real thing.

Top image: The reconstructed Amber Room.       Source: Public Domain

By Ḏḥwty

References

Blumberg, J., 2007.  A Brief History of the Amber Room. Available at: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-amber-room-160940121/?all

Daily Mail Reporter, 2011.  60-year hunt for Russian Czars' missing Amber Room may be over after discovery in Germany. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369271/60-year-hunt-Russian-Czars-missing-Amber-Room-discovery-Germany.html

Hall, A., 2010.  'Priceless' Amber Room of the Tsars, looted and hidden by the Nazis, is 'found' by Russian treasure hunter. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1244140/Priceless-Amber-Room-Tsars-looted-hidden-Nazis-Russian-treasure-hunter.html

Savage, M., 2008.  The Big Question: What was the Amber Room, and has it really been discovered at last? Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-big-question-what-was-the-amber-room-and-has-it-really-been-discovered-at-last-784891.html

Walters, G. & Kelly, T., 2013.  Can the weirdo who hid £1bn of Nazi art solve the mystery of the Tsar's lost treasure trove? Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2489151/Can-weirdo-hid-Nazi-art-solve-The-Amber-Room-mystery.html

Wikipedia, 2014.  Amber.  Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber

 

 

Comments

World War II, like its predecessor, was a staged Satanic sacrifice event. Hitler didn't invade Britain, because he and Churchill were on the same side and such an invasion was not in the plan. Hitler and Stalin were also on the same side, but an unsuccessful invasion of the Soviet Union was planned. After all, Germany had to lose somehow.

During the chaos, things went missing. This, again, was at times all part of the plan. The amber room is most likely now in the basement of a chateau or castle owned by one of the uber-wealthy people behind the Satanic sacrifice event. The new owner won't tell you where it is, but will enjoy it anyway, just as he likely enjoys undeserved victimhood status from all the deception that was World War II.

Much of history is false. It is written by winners for their purposes and the cleverer they are the more they falsify it and the less historians notice.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Amber Room was originally designed in the early 18th Century as an opulent 16sq m showpiece chamber for Frederick I, the King of Prussia. In 1716, the chamber was gifted to the Russian Tsar Peter the Great, and it was eventually was moved to the Catherine Palace near St Petersburg.

The dazzling space was paneled with tons of finely carved amber, gold, and jewels. The room was presented as a gift to Peter the Great by Prussia in 1716 and dubbed by some an "eighth wonder of the world." Amber is fossilized tree sap that has hardened to gem-like chunks through tens of millions of years underground.

While it is possible that the Amber Room was destroyed by British bombing raids or Soviet artillery, some have speculated that it was secretly evacuated from Königsberg. However, despite various theories and purported leads, no trace of it has ever been found.

dhwty's picture

Wu

Wu Mingren (‘Dhwty’) has a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History and Archaeology. Although his primary interest is in the ancient civilizations of the Near East, he is also interested in other geographical regions, as well as other time periods.... Read More

Next article