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Video: Daring robberies: two European museums have lost precious exhibits - crowns and tiaras
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The spring of 2017 will go down in history with two major robberies that took place in museums in France and Germany - in both cases, very expensive ceremonial jewelry - a crown and a diadem - was the object of theft. In museums, these jewels were under reliable protection, however, this did not stop the kidnappers …
France, Lyon, Fourvière Fine Arts Museum
One of the robberies took place on the night of May 13 - from the museum of the French year of Lyon, one of the most important museums in the country, one of its most valuable exhibits, the crown of the Virgin, which had been kept in it since 1899, was taken out. The stolen crown of the Virgin Mary is inlaid with 1791 precious stones and pearls, received as gifts from the richest inhabitants of Lyon.
And although the police arrived at the crime scene almost immediately after the alarm went off, the kidnappers managed to escape. This indicates that they had a well-developed crime plan. In addition to the crown, the criminals also grabbed a ring and a bowl. The damage to the Lyon Museum is estimated at more than a million dollars.
Germany, Baden State Museum
The incident in Lyon echoes the robbery that happened just before that in a museum in another European country, Germany. On May 8, German police officially announced the theft of a very expensive diadem of the early 20th century worth 1.2 million euros from the Baden State Museum in the German city of Karlsruhe, although museum staff discovered the loss on April 29.
But, it is quite possible that the diadem disappeared earlier, the loss could not be immediately noticed, since the robbery was carried out in a mysterious way - the lock on the glass showcase of the Throne Hall, in which the jewel was located, was not broken. Whether the alarm went off at the time of the crime is not yet precisely established.
The stolen diadem, made of gold and platinum with 367 diamonds, was once a ceremonial adornment of Hilda of Luxembourg (1864-1952), wife of Frederick II, the last Grand Duke of Baden, who reigned from 1907 to 1918. In 1918 Baden ceased to exist as an independent state and became part of Germany. On November 22, 1918, a document was signed in which Frederick II abdicated the Baden throne.
Hilda has been described as an intelligent and progressive woman with a passion for art, attending exhibitions and museums. Numerous schools, grammar schools and streets in Karlsruhe are named after her. On the silver anniversary of their wedding, the Russian Emperor Nicholas II awarded Hilda the Women's Order of St. Catherine and presented her with a Diamond Star. Ladies were honored with this order for merits in education and charity.
In October 2016, this "unprecedented first class museum piece", the only one bearing the hallmark of the magnificent Fabergé jeweler, Alfred Thielemann, was put up for sale at an auction in Zurich. Great interest in it was shown by Russian museums, and, perhaps, this unique Star is now in Russia.
And in continuation of the topic, a story about the most expensive stolen paintings, the fate of which remains unknown.
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