Misplaced Pages

Amber Room: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 22:43, 6 June 2005 editSpace Cadet (talk | contribs)8,095 edits →Creation← Previous edit Latest revision as of 09:17, 4 January 2025 edit undoTDB579 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users1,502 editsmNo edit summary 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Decorated royal chamber}}
The '''Amber Room''' (German ''Bernsteinzimmer'', Russian ''Янтарная комната'') in the ] of ] is a complete chamber decoration of ] panels backed with ] leaf and ]s. Due to its singular beauty, it was sometimes dubbed "The Eighth ]." ].]]
{{Other uses}}
{{Good article}}
] of the original Amber Room, 1931]]
] of the Amber Room in the Catherine Palace, 1917]]
]


The '''Amber Room''' ({{lang-rus|Янтарная комната|r=Yantarnaya Komnata}}, {{langx|de|Bernsteinzimmer}}) was a chamber decorated in ] panels backed with ] leaf and ]s, located in the ] of ] near ].
==Creation==


Constructed in the 18th century in ], the room was dismantled and eventually disappeared during ]. Before its loss, it was considered an "]". A reconstruction was made, starting in 1979 and completed and installed in the Catherine Palace in 2003.
It was made in ] at ], the ] palace of ], the first king of ], at the instigation of his second wife, ]. The concept of the room and its design was by ]. It was crafted by ], master craftsman to the ] court of King ], with help from the amber masters Ernst Schacht and Gottfried Turau from ] (known in German as ]).
It did not, however, remain at Charlottenburg for long. Tsar ] admired it on a visit and in ], ], the first king's son, presented it to him and in that act cemented a Prussian-Russian alliance against ].


The Amber Room was intended in 1701 for the ], in ], ], but was eventually installed at the ]. It was designed by German baroque sculptor ] and Danish amber craftsman Gottfried Wolfram. Schlüter and Wolfram worked on the room until 1707, when work was continued by amber masters Gottfried Turau and Ernst Schacht from ] (Gdańsk).
In ] ] had it transferred and installed, first in the ], and then in the ] at ] near ]. From Berlin, ] sent her more Baltic amber in order to piece out the originals in the new design by the tsarina's Italian court architect, ].


It remained in Berlin until 1716, when it was given by the Prussian King ] to his ally ] ] of the ]. In Russia, the room was installed in the Catherine Palace. After expansion and several renovations, it covered more than {{convert|55|m2|ft2}} and contained over {{convert|6|t|lb}} of amber.
The Amber Room represented a joined effort of German and Russian craftsmen. After several other 18th-century renovations, it covered more that 55 square ] and contained over six ]s of amber. It took over ten years to construct.


The Amber Room was ] during World War II by the ] of ], and taken to ] for reconstruction and display. Some time in early 1944, with Allied forces closing in on Germany, the room was disassembled and crated for storage in the Castle basement.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=A Brief History of the Amber Room|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-amber-room-160940121/|access-date=2022-01-15|magazine=]|language=en}}</ref> Königsberg was destroyed by Allied bombers in August 1944 and documentation of the room location ends there. Its eventual fate and current whereabouts, if it survives, remain a mystery. In 1979, the decision was taken to create a reconstructed Amber Room at the Catherine Palace in ]. After decades of work by Russian craftsmen and donations from Germany, it was completed and inaugurated in 2003.
==Disappearance==


==Architecture==
Shortly after the beginning of ] in ], the Amber Room was hidden behind mundane wallpaper to keep ] forces from seizing it. These attempts failed, however, when Nazis disassembled the fragile Amber Room and moved it to a ] in ] for display.
The Amber Room is a priceless piece of art, with extraordinary architectural features, such as ], ], 450&nbsp;kg (990&nbsp;lb) of amber panels, ], ]s, and mirrors, all highlighted with candle light.{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}}{{sfn|About 2014}}{{sfn|St. Petersburg 2001}} Additional architectural and design features include statues of ]s and children.{{sfn|About 2014}}{{sfn|St. Petersburg 2001}}


Because of its unique features and singular beauty, the original Amber Room was sometimes dubbed the "]".{{sfn|About 2014}} Modern estimates of the room's value range from $142 million (2007)<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-amber-room-160940121/?no-ist|title=A Brief History of the Amber Room|author=Jess Blumberg|magazine=]|date=July 21, 2007|access-date=April 24, 2016}}</ref> to over $500 million (2016).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2016/04/23/Historian-claims-to-have-struck-gold-at-Nazi-bunker/9911461439148/|title=Historian claims to have struck gold at Nazi bunker|author=Marilyn Malara|publisher=]|date=April 23, 2016|access-date=April 24, 2016}}</ref>
Königsberg was very heavily bombarded by British forces, then destroyed further by the Soviets. The ''Bernsteinzimmer'' was never seen again, though reports have occasionally surfaced stating that components of the Amber Room survived the war. ]


==History==
There are conflicting reports that the Amber Room was destroyed by bombing, buried not far from ], smuggled onto a Nazi ship or ] which was sunk by Allied forces, or hidden near the ].
===Creation===
]
The Amber Room was begun in 1701 with the purpose of being installed at ], the residence of ], the ] in ], at the urging of his second wife, ].{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution 2014}}{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}} The concept and design of the room was drafted by ].{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution 2014}}{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}} It was fabricated by Gottfried Wolfram, ] to the ] court of King ], with help from the amber masters Ernst Schacht and Gottfried Turau from ], now Gdańsk in Poland.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution 2014}}{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}}{{sfn|About 2014}}


Although originally intended for installation at Charlottenburg Palace, the complete panels were eventually installed at ].{{sfn|Wermusch|1991|p=15}} The Amber Room did not, however, remain at Berlin City Palace for long. ] of Russia admired it during a visit, and in 1716, King Frederick I's son ] presented the room to Peter as a gift, which forged a Russo-Prussian alliance against ].{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}}{{sfn|About 2014}}
==Reconstruction==


The original Berlin design of the Amber Room was reworked in ] in a joint effort by German and Russian craftsmen.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution 2014}}{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}} It was Peter's daughter ] who decided the amber treasure should be installed at ], where the Russian Imperial family typically spent their summers.{{sfn|About 2014}}{{sfn|St. Petersburg 2001}} After several other 18th-century renovations, the room covered more than {{convert|55|m2|ft2}} and contained over {{convert|6|t|lb}} of amber.{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}} The room took over ten years to construct.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution 2014}}{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}}
In ] a reconstruction effort began, based largely on black and white photographs of the original Amber Room. Financial difficulties were helped with money donated by a German agency. By 2003 the titanic work of the Russian craftsmen was mostly completed. The new room was dedicated by Russian President ] and German Chancellor ] at the 300-year anniversary of the city of St. Petersburg.


===Theft during World War II===
In Kleinmachnow, near Berlin, is a miniature ''Bernsteinzimmer'' fabricated after the original. The Berlin miniature collector Ulla Klingbeil had this copy made of original East Prussian amber. The exhibit fee at Europarc Dreilinden is donated to the Arilex-Verein (foundation) to aid handicapped children.
]


Shortly after the beginning of the ] in World War II, the curators responsible for removing the art treasures in ] tried to disassemble and remove the Amber Room.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution 2014}} However, over the years the amber had dried out and become brittle, making it impossible to move the room without the amber crumbling.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution 2014}} The Amber Room was therefore hidden behind mundane ], in an attempt to keep German forces from seizing it, but the attempt to hide such a well-known piece of art failed.{{sfn|About 2014}}
==References==
* Scott-Clark, Catherine and Levy, Adrian (2004). ''The Amber Room''. Atlantic Books, London. ISBN 1-84354-340-0.


German soldiers of ] disassembled the Amber Room within 36 hours under the supervision of two experts.{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}}{{sfn|About 2014}}{{sfn|St. Petersburg 2001}}{{sfn|Torney|2009|pp=185–186}} On 14 October 1941, the priceless room reached ] in ], for storage and display in the town's castle.{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}}{{sfn|About 2014}}{{sfn|Torney|2009|pp=185–186}} On 13 November 1941, a Königsberg newspaper announced an exhibition of the Amber Room at ].{{sfn|Torney|2009|pp=185–186}}
==External links==
*
*
*


===Last days in Königsberg===
----
Orders given by ] on 21 and 24 January 1945 ordered the movement of looted possessions from Königsberg.{{sfn|Toptenz 2014}} This allowed ], Reichsminister of Armaments, and his administration team to transport cultural goods of priority.{{sfn|Toptenz 2014}} However, before the Amber Room could be moved, ], who was in charge of civil administration in Königsberg during the final months of the war, abandoned his post and fled from the city, leaving General ] in command.{{sfn|Los Angeles Times 1986}}


In August 1944, ] by the ]. It suffered further extensive damage from the artillery of the advancing ] before the final occupation on 9 April 1945.{{sfn|Spiegel 2014}}
''']''' is American author ]'s debut ]. It was published in ], and has since been followed up by ] in ]. The story explores the mystery behind the Amber Room's disappearance at the end of World War II.


== Disappearance and mysteries ==
----
After the war, the Amber Room was never seen in public again, though reports have occasionally surfaced stating that pieces of the Amber Room survived the war.{{sfn|Lucas|2000|pp=25–28}} Several eyewitnesses claimed to have spotted the famous room being loaded on board the '']'', which left ] on 30 January 1945, and was then promptly torpedoed and sunk by a Soviet submarine.{{sfn|Lucas|2000|pp=25–28}}
] by ])]]


In 1997, an Italian stone mosaic "Feel and Touch" that was part of a set of four stones which had decorated the Amber Room was found in Germany, in the possession of the family of a soldier who claimed to have helped pack up the amber chamber.{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}}{{sfn|Seattle Times 1997}} The mosaic came into the hands of the Russian authorities and was used in the reconstruction.{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}}{{sfn|Seattle Times 1997}}
'''The Amber Room''' is also the name of Catherine Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy's investigative, non-fiction book about the disappearance of the Amber Room. It was published in ].

]
In 1998, two separate teams, one German and one Lithuanian, announced they had located the Amber Room.{{sfn|Scotland on Sunday 2006}} The German team pointed to a silver mine while the Lithuanian team believed the amber treasure was buried in a lagoon; neither of the two locations turned out to hold the Amber Room.{{sfn|Scotland on Sunday 2006}}

In 2004, a lengthy investigation by British ] ] and ] concluded that the Amber Room was most likely destroyed when ] was damaged,{{sfn|Guardian 2004}} first during the bombing of Königsberg by the Royal Air Force in 1944 and then by the Soviets' burning of the castle followed by shelling of the remaining walls.{{sfn|Guardian 2004}}{{sfn|Denny|2007|p=163}} Official assessments, set out in documents from the Russian National Archives written by Alexander Brusov, head of the Soviet team charged with locating the Amber Room following the war, agreed with this theory. The official report stated: "Summarizing all the facts, we can say that the Amber Room was destroyed between 9 and 11 April 1945."{{sfn|Khatri|2012|pp=90–95}}

These dates correspond with the end of the ], which on 9 April ended with the surrender of the German garrison. A few years later, Brusov publicly voiced a contrary opinion;{{sfn|Scott-Clark|Levy|2004|pp=309–330}} this is believed to have been done due to pressure from Soviet authorities, who did not want to be seen as responsible for the loss of the Amber Room.{{sfn|Scott-Clark|Levy|2004|pp=309–330}}

Among other information retrieved from the archives was the revelation that the remaining Italian stone mosaics were found in the burned debris of the castle.{{sfn|Scott-Clark|Levy|2004|pp=322–323, 328}} Scott-Clark and Levy concluded in their report that the reason the Soviets conducted extensive searches for the Amber Room, even though their own experts had concluded that it was destroyed, was because they wanted to know if any of their own soldiers had been responsible for the destruction.{{sfn|Scott-Clark|Levy|2004|pp=108–109, 325}} Scott-Clark and Levy also assessed that others in the Soviet government found the theft of the Amber Room a useful ] ] tool.{{sfn|Scott-Clark|Levy|2004|p=108-109, 325}} Russian government officials have since denied these conclusions. Adelaida Yolkina, senior researcher at the ], reportedly stated: "It is impossible to see the Red Army being so careless that they let the Amber Room be destroyed".{{sfn|Scott-Clark|Levy|2004|pp=301–313}}

After the report was made public, Leonid Arinshtein, who was a lieutenant in the Red Army in charge of a rifle platoon during the Battle of Königsberg, said: "I probably was one of the last people who saw the Amber Room".{{sfn|ABC News 2004}} At the same time, he explained that the whole city was burning due to artillery bombardments, but also denied allegations that the Red Army burned the city on purpose, saying: "What soldiers would burn the city where they will have to stay?"{{sfn|ABC News 2004}}

A variation of this theory by some present-day residents of ] (formerly Königsberg), is that at least parts of the room were found in the Königsberg Castle cellars after World War II by the Red Army. The Amber Room was allegedly still in good condition; this was not admitted at the time so the blame could fall upon the Nazis.{{sfn|ABC News 2004}} To preserve this story, access to the ruins of the castle, which was allowed after World War II, was suddenly restricted to all, including historical and archaeological surveys, but the room is said to be in a storehouse near Königsberg Castle.{{sfn|ABC News 2004}}

Then in 1968, despite academic protests worldwide, ] ] ordered the destruction of Königsberg Castle, thus making any onsite research of the last known resting place of the Amber Room all but impossible.{{sfn|ABC News 2004}} Later the search for the Amber Room continued in different locations, including near ], Germany.<ref name="NBC_News_2015_report">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/amber-room-go-inside-search-missing-8th-wonder-world-n371631|title=Go Inside Search for Nazi-Looted '8th Wonder of World'|publisher=]|access-date=Feb 3, 2020}}</ref>

]
Another hypothesis involves a bunker in Mamerki in northeastern Poland, or that Stalin ordered the Amber Room replaced with a replica prior to its looting, hiding the original. The main problem with finding the Amber Room is that the Nazi regime hid many items in many difficult-to-reach places, usually without documentation, leaving a wide search area. The Germans also moved items to destinations far from Europe in some cases. The search for the Amber Room has also been halted by authorities. In the case of ] castle it was halted because of the historic value of the castle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://listverse.com/2018/07/28/10-rumored-locations-of-the-lost-amber-room/|title=10 Rumored Locations Of The Lost Amber Room|date=Jul 28, 2018|website=listverse.com|access-date=Feb 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historycollection.co/nazis-amber-room/|title=Treasure Hunters Claim They Have Found the Long Lost Nazi Amber Room|date=Jun 23, 2017|website=historycollection.co|access-date=Feb 3, 2020}}</ref>

In October 2020 Polish divers from the Baltictech group found the wreck of the ], a ship which took part in ], a sea evacuation which allowed more than a million German troops and civilians from East Prussia to escape advancing Soviet forces. The ship was attacked off the coast of Poland by Soviet aircraft after it sailed from Königsberg in 1945. The wreck holds many crates with unknown contents.<ref>{{Cite news|last=|date=1 October 2020|title=Nazi shipwreck found off Poland may solve Amber Room mystery|language=en-GB|work=]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/01/nazi-shipwreck-found-off-poland-may-solve-amber-room-mystery|access-date=28 February 2021|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> An online news website, ], reports that this German steamship may hold crates that contain parts of the Amber Room, <ref name="Live Science Report">{{cite web |last1=Metcalfe |first1=Tom |title=Nazi wreck may hold looted treasures bbfrom Russian palace's 'Amber Room' |url=https://www.livescience.com/amber-room-nazi-wreck-poland.html |website=www.livescience.com |date=14 October 2020 |access-date=16 February 2021}}</ref> but divers subsequently discovered that the crates on the ship contained military equipment and personal belongings

==Reconstruction==
] with Italian Prime Minister ], Greek Prime Minister ] and German Chancellor ] in the Amber Room (2003)]]
In 1979, the Soviet government decided to construct a replica of the Amber Room at ], a process that was to take 24 years and require 40 Russian and German experts in amber craftsmanship.{{sfn|RIA Novosti 2010}}{{sfn|About 2014}} Using original drawings and old black-and-white photographs, every attempt was made to duplicate the original Amber Room. This included the 350 shades of amber in the original panels and fixtures that adorned the room.{{sfn|Russia Beyond the Headlines 2013}} A major problem was the lack of skilled workers, since amber carving was a nearly lost art form.{{sfn|Russia Beyond the Headlines 2013}}

The financial difficulties that plagued the reconstruction project from the start were solved with the donation of ]3.5 million from the German company ].{{sfn|Pravda 2003}} By 2003, the work of the Russian craftsmen was mostly completed.{{sfn|Russia Beyond the Headlines 2013}} The new room was dedicated by Russian President ] and German Chancellor ] at the 300th anniversary of the city of Saint Petersburg.{{sfn|Telegraph 2004}}
In ], near Berlin, there is a miniature Amber Room, fabricated after the original.{{sfn|AskMen 2004}} The Berlin miniature collector Ulla Klingbeil had this copy made of original East Prussian amber.{{sfn|AskMen 2004}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="250px">
Original Amber Room's remains - chest (17 c., Hermitage) 01.JPG|Amber case presented by ] to Peter the Great during his stay in Berlin in 1716.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/digital-collection/08.%20applied%20arts/1158545/!ut/p/z1/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfIjo8zi_R0dzQyNnQ28_J1NXQwc_YMCTIOc_dwNDE30w8EKDHAARwP9KGL041EQhd94L0IWAH1gVOTr7JuuH1WQWJKhm5mXlq8fYWChp5BYUJCTmZqikFhUUqwfYWhoamFqYgp0UBSakZ7e5kAjQ0w9_P3DnI2cTaAK8DiqIDc0osrHwyDTUVERAIb_IfE!/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/?lng=ru |access-date=18 April 2023|website=hermitagemuseum.org|title=Ларец|language=ru}}</ref>
Original Amber Room's remains - mirror (1700-5., Hermitage) 01 by shakko.JPG|Mirror presented by Friedrich Wilhelm I to Peter the Great in 1716
Stamp-russia2004-yantar-room.png|Amber room on a 2004 postage stamp
</gallery>

==See also==
*]
*]
*]
*]

==References==
{{Reflist|22em}}

==Sources==
===Printed===
* {{cite book |last=Denny |first=Isabel |title=The Fall of Hitler's Fortress City: the Battle for Königsberg, 1945 |publisher=MBI Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=978-1935149200 }}
* {{cite book |last=Khatri |first=Vikas |title=World Famous Treasures Lost and Found |publisher=Pustak Mahal Publishing |year=2012 |isbn=978-8122312744 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lucas |first=James |title=Last Days of the Reich: The Collapse of Nazi Germany, May 1945 |publisher=Cassell Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=978-0304354481 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/lastdaysofreichc00luca }}
* {{cite book |first=Catherine |last=Scott-Clark |author1-link=Cathy Scott-Clark |author2-last=Levy |author2-first=Adrian |author2-link=Adrian Levy |title=The Amber Room: The Untold Story of the Greatest Hoax of the Twentieth Century |publisher=Atlantic Books |year=2004 |isbn=1-84354-340-0 }}
* {{cite book |last=Torney |first=Austin |title=The Guide to the All-Embracing Realm of the Ultimate |publisher=Torney Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=978-1448617272 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wermusch |first=Günter |title=Die Bernsteinzimmer Saga: Spuren, Irrwege, Rätsel |publisher=Yale University |language=de |year=1991 |isbn=978-3861530190 }}

===Online===
* {{cite web |title=A Brief History of the Amber Room |publisher=] |year=2014 |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-amber-room-160940121/?no-ist |access-date=19 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|Smithsonian Institution 2014}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Amber Room Hunt Makes Lake the Tsar Attraction |publisher=] |year=2006 |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/world/amber-room-hunt-makes-lake-the-tsar-attraction-1-1411018 |access-date=19 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|Scotland on Sunday 2006}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Amber Room Remnants Found? — Discoveries Delight Russian Art Experts |publisher=] |year=1997 |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19970626/2546626/amber-room-remnants-found----discoveries-delight-russian-art-experts |access-date=19 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|Seattle Times 1997}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Catherine Palace |publisher=] |year=2001 |url=http://www.saint-petersburg.com/pushkin/catherine-palace.asp |access-date=23 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|St. Petersburg 2001}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Erich Koch, Regarded as One of Cruelest of Hitler's SS Men, Dies in Prison at 90 |work=] |year=1986 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-11-15-fi-3510-story.html |access-date=19 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|Los Angeles Times 1986}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Greed, Glory and a Tsar's Lost Treasure |work=] |year=2004 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/jul/18/historybooks.highereducation |access-date=22 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|Guardian 2004}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Mystery of the Amber Room Resurfaces |work=] |year=2004 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5174876 |access-date=19 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|ABC News 2004}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Red Army, Not the Nazis, Destroyed Tsar's Amber Room |publisher=] |year=2004 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/1462631/Red-Army-not-the-Nazis-destroyed-tsars-Amber-Room.html |access-date=19 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|Telegraph 2004}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Resurrecting Königsberg: Russian City Looks to German Roots |publisher=] |year=2014 |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/architectural-competition-held-to-rebuild-koenigsberg-city-center-a-980260.html |access-date=19 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|Spiegel 2014}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Restoration of the Amber Chamber is Coming to an End |publisher=] |year=2007 |url=http://english.pravda.ru/news/science/08-05-2003/49346-0/ |access-date=26 June 2007 |ref={{sfnRef|Pravda 2003}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Russian Jeweller Recreates the Amber Room In His Workshop |publisher=] |year=2013 |url=http://rbth.co.uk/society/2013/05/27/russias_jeweler_creates_the_amber_room_in_his_workshop_26407.html |access-date=19 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|Russia Beyond the Headlines 2013}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Top 10 Famous Pieces of Art Stolen by the Nazis |publisher=Toptenz |year=2014 |url=http://www.toptenz.net/10-famous-pieces-of-art-stolen-by-the-nazis.php |access-date=19 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|Toptenz 2014}} }}
* {{cite web |title=The Amber Room: History, Figures, Facts and Mysteries |publisher=] |language=ru |year=2010 |url=http://ria.ru/spravka/20100429/227384217.html |access-date=25 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|RIA Novosti 2010}} }}
* {{cite web |title=The Amber Room: Long Lost Treasure |publisher=] |year=2004 |url=http://uk.askmen.com/entertainment/special_feature_60/78c_special_feature.html |access-date=19 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|AskMen 2004}} }}
* {{cite web |title=The Amber Room |publisher=] |year=2014 |url=http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/russiaandukraine/p/pramberroom.htm |access-date=19 February 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|About 2014}} |archive-date=13 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113113007/http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/russiaandukraine/p/pramberroom.htm |url-status=dead }}

==External links==
{{Commonscatinline}}
* by Classic Studio
* by Peter Bruhn


{{Showplaces in Ekaterininsky park of Tsarskoye Selo}}
]
{{Authority control}}
]
{{Coord|59|42|57|N|30|23|44|E|region:RU_type:landmark|display=title}}
]


]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 09:17, 4 January 2025

Decorated royal chamber For other uses, see Amber Room (disambiguation).

Hand-coloured photograph of the original Amber Room, 1931
Autochrome of the Amber Room in the Catherine Palace, 1917
Reconstructed Amber Room, 2003

The Amber Room (Russian: Янтарная комната, romanized: Yantarnaya Komnata, German: Bernsteinzimmer) was a chamber decorated in amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors, located in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg.

Constructed in the 18th century in Prussia, the room was dismantled and eventually disappeared during World War II. Before its loss, it was considered an "Eighth Wonder of the World". A reconstruction was made, starting in 1979 and completed and installed in the Catherine Palace in 2003.

The Amber Room was intended in 1701 for the Charlottenburg Palace, in Berlin, Prussia, but was eventually installed at the Berlin City Palace. It was designed by German baroque sculptor Andreas Schlüter and Danish amber craftsman Gottfried Wolfram. Schlüter and Wolfram worked on the room until 1707, when work was continued by amber masters Gottfried Turau and Ernst Schacht from Danzig (Gdańsk).

It remained in Berlin until 1716, when it was given by the Prussian King Frederick William I to his ally Tsar Peter the Great of the Russian Empire. In Russia, the room was installed in the Catherine Palace. After expansion and several renovations, it covered more than 55 square metres (590 sq ft) and contained over 6 tonnes (13,000 lb) of amber.

The Amber Room was looted during World War II by the Army Group North of Nazi Germany, and taken to Königsberg for reconstruction and display. Some time in early 1944, with Allied forces closing in on Germany, the room was disassembled and crated for storage in the Castle basement. Königsberg was destroyed by Allied bombers in August 1944 and documentation of the room location ends there. Its eventual fate and current whereabouts, if it survives, remain a mystery. In 1979, the decision was taken to create a reconstructed Amber Room at the Catherine Palace in Pushkin. After decades of work by Russian craftsmen and donations from Germany, it was completed and inaugurated in 2003.

Architecture

The Amber Room is a priceless piece of art, with extraordinary architectural features, such as gilding, carvings, 450 kg (990 lb) of amber panels, gold leaf, gemstones, and mirrors, all highlighted with candle light. Additional architectural and design features include statues of angels and children.

Because of its unique features and singular beauty, the original Amber Room was sometimes dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World". Modern estimates of the room's value range from $142 million (2007) to over $500 million (2016).

History

Creation

Corner section of the reconstructed Amber Room

The Amber Room was begun in 1701 with the purpose of being installed at Charlottenburg Palace, the residence of Frederick, the first King in Prussia, at the urging of his second wife, Sophia Charlotte. The concept and design of the room was drafted by Andreas Schlüter. It was fabricated by Gottfried Wolfram, master craftsman to the Danish court of King Frederick IV of Denmark, with help from the amber masters Ernst Schacht and Gottfried Turau from Danzig, now Gdańsk in Poland.

Although originally intended for installation at Charlottenburg Palace, the complete panels were eventually installed at Berlin City Palace. The Amber Room did not, however, remain at Berlin City Palace for long. Peter the Great of Russia admired it during a visit, and in 1716, King Frederick I's son Frederick William I presented the room to Peter as a gift, which forged a Russo-Prussian alliance against Sweden.

The original Berlin design of the Amber Room was reworked in Russia in a joint effort by German and Russian craftsmen. It was Peter's daughter Empress Elizabeth who decided the amber treasure should be installed at Catherine Palace, where the Russian Imperial family typically spent their summers. After several other 18th-century renovations, the room covered more than 55 square metres (590 sq ft) and contained over 6 tonnes (13,000 lb) of amber. The room took over ten years to construct.

Theft during World War II

An angel statue featured on the wall of the Amber Room

Shortly after the beginning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, the curators responsible for removing the art treasures in Leningrad tried to disassemble and remove the Amber Room. However, over the years the amber had dried out and become brittle, making it impossible to move the room without the amber crumbling. The Amber Room was therefore hidden behind mundane wallpaper, in an attempt to keep German forces from seizing it, but the attempt to hide such a well-known piece of art failed.

German soldiers of Army Group North disassembled the Amber Room within 36 hours under the supervision of two experts. On 14 October 1941, the priceless room reached Königsberg in East Prussia, for storage and display in the town's castle. On 13 November 1941, a Königsberg newspaper announced an exhibition of the Amber Room at Königsberg Castle.

Last days in Königsberg

Orders given by Hitler on 21 and 24 January 1945 ordered the movement of looted possessions from Königsberg. This allowed Albert Speer, Reichsminister of Armaments, and his administration team to transport cultural goods of priority. However, before the Amber Room could be moved, Erich Koch, who was in charge of civil administration in Königsberg during the final months of the war, abandoned his post and fled from the city, leaving General Otto Lasch in command.

In August 1944, Königsberg was heavily fire-bombed by the Royal Air Force. It suffered further extensive damage from the artillery of the advancing Red Army before the final occupation on 9 April 1945.

Disappearance and mysteries

After the war, the Amber Room was never seen in public again, though reports have occasionally surfaced stating that pieces of the Amber Room survived the war. Several eyewitnesses claimed to have spotted the famous room being loaded on board the Wilhelm Gustloff, which left Gdynia on 30 January 1945, and was then promptly torpedoed and sunk by a Soviet submarine.

Feel and Touch mosaic (part of the cycle of mosaics donated to Elizabeth Petrovna by Empress Maria Theresa)

In 1997, an Italian stone mosaic "Feel and Touch" that was part of a set of four stones which had decorated the Amber Room was found in Germany, in the possession of the family of a soldier who claimed to have helped pack up the amber chamber. The mosaic came into the hands of the Russian authorities and was used in the reconstruction.

Königsberg Castle, 1925

In 1998, two separate teams, one German and one Lithuanian, announced they had located the Amber Room. The German team pointed to a silver mine while the Lithuanian team believed the amber treasure was buried in a lagoon; neither of the two locations turned out to hold the Amber Room.

In 2004, a lengthy investigation by British investigative journalists Catherine Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy concluded that the Amber Room was most likely destroyed when Königsberg Castle was damaged, first during the bombing of Königsberg by the Royal Air Force in 1944 and then by the Soviets' burning of the castle followed by shelling of the remaining walls. Official assessments, set out in documents from the Russian National Archives written by Alexander Brusov, head of the Soviet team charged with locating the Amber Room following the war, agreed with this theory. The official report stated: "Summarizing all the facts, we can say that the Amber Room was destroyed between 9 and 11 April 1945."

These dates correspond with the end of the Battle of Königsberg, which on 9 April ended with the surrender of the German garrison. A few years later, Brusov publicly voiced a contrary opinion; this is believed to have been done due to pressure from Soviet authorities, who did not want to be seen as responsible for the loss of the Amber Room.

Among other information retrieved from the archives was the revelation that the remaining Italian stone mosaics were found in the burned debris of the castle. Scott-Clark and Levy concluded in their report that the reason the Soviets conducted extensive searches for the Amber Room, even though their own experts had concluded that it was destroyed, was because they wanted to know if any of their own soldiers had been responsible for the destruction. Scott-Clark and Levy also assessed that others in the Soviet government found the theft of the Amber Room a useful Cold War propaganda tool. Russian government officials have since denied these conclusions. Adelaida Yolkina, senior researcher at the Pavlovsk Palace, reportedly stated: "It is impossible to see the Red Army being so careless that they let the Amber Room be destroyed".

After the report was made public, Leonid Arinshtein, who was a lieutenant in the Red Army in charge of a rifle platoon during the Battle of Königsberg, said: "I probably was one of the last people who saw the Amber Room". At the same time, he explained that the whole city was burning due to artillery bombardments, but also denied allegations that the Red Army burned the city on purpose, saying: "What soldiers would burn the city where they will have to stay?"

A variation of this theory by some present-day residents of Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg), is that at least parts of the room were found in the Königsberg Castle cellars after World War II by the Red Army. The Amber Room was allegedly still in good condition; this was not admitted at the time so the blame could fall upon the Nazis. To preserve this story, access to the ruins of the castle, which was allowed after World War II, was suddenly restricted to all, including historical and archaeological surveys, but the room is said to be in a storehouse near Königsberg Castle.

Then in 1968, despite academic protests worldwide, Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev ordered the destruction of Königsberg Castle, thus making any onsite research of the last known resting place of the Amber Room all but impossible. Later the search for the Amber Room continued in different locations, including near Wuppertal, Germany.

Immense sums were spent on both the original and reconstructed Amber Room.

Another hypothesis involves a bunker in Mamerki in northeastern Poland, or that Stalin ordered the Amber Room replaced with a replica prior to its looting, hiding the original. The main problem with finding the Amber Room is that the Nazi regime hid many items in many difficult-to-reach places, usually without documentation, leaving a wide search area. The Germans also moved items to destinations far from Europe in some cases. The search for the Amber Room has also been halted by authorities. In the case of Frýdlant castle it was halted because of the historic value of the castle.

In October 2020 Polish divers from the Baltictech group found the wreck of the SS Karlsruhe, a ship which took part in Operation Hannibal, a sea evacuation which allowed more than a million German troops and civilians from East Prussia to escape advancing Soviet forces. The ship was attacked off the coast of Poland by Soviet aircraft after it sailed from Königsberg in 1945. The wreck holds many crates with unknown contents. An online news website, Live Science, reports that this German steamship may hold crates that contain parts of the Amber Room, but divers subsequently discovered that the crates on the ship contained military equipment and personal belongings

Reconstruction

President of Russia Vladimir Putin with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Simitis and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in the Amber Room (2003)

In 1979, the Soviet government decided to construct a replica of the Amber Room at Tsarskoye Selo, a process that was to take 24 years and require 40 Russian and German experts in amber craftsmanship. Using original drawings and old black-and-white photographs, every attempt was made to duplicate the original Amber Room. This included the 350 shades of amber in the original panels and fixtures that adorned the room. A major problem was the lack of skilled workers, since amber carving was a nearly lost art form.

The financial difficulties that plagued the reconstruction project from the start were solved with the donation of US$3.5 million from the German company E.ON. By 2003, the work of the Russian craftsmen was mostly completed. The new room was dedicated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder at the 300th anniversary of the city of Saint Petersburg. In Kleinmachnow, near Berlin, there is a miniature Amber Room, fabricated after the original. The Berlin miniature collector Ulla Klingbeil had this copy made of original East Prussian amber.

  • Amber case presented by Friedrich Wilhelm I to Peter the Great during his stay in Berlin in 1716. Amber case presented by Friedrich Wilhelm I to Peter the Great during his stay in Berlin in 1716.
  • Mirror presented by Friedrich Wilhelm I to Peter the Great in 1716 Mirror presented by Friedrich Wilhelm I to Peter the Great in 1716
  • Amber room on a 2004 postage stamp Amber room on a 2004 postage stamp

See also

References

  1. "A Brief History of the Amber Room". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  2. ^ RIA Novosti 2010.
  3. ^ About 2014.
  4. ^ St. Petersburg 2001.
  5. Jess Blumberg (July 21, 2007). "A Brief History of the Amber Room". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  6. Marilyn Malara (April 23, 2016). "Historian claims to have struck gold at Nazi bunker". United Press International. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  7. ^ Smithsonian Institution 2014.
  8. Wermusch 1991, p. 15.
  9. ^ Torney 2009, pp. 185–186.
  10. ^ Toptenz 2014.
  11. Los Angeles Times 1986.
  12. Spiegel 2014.
  13. ^ Lucas 2000, pp. 25–28.
  14. ^ Seattle Times 1997.
  15. ^ Scotland on Sunday 2006.
  16. ^ Guardian 2004.
  17. Denny 2007, p. 163.
  18. Khatri 2012, pp. 90–95.
  19. ^ Scott-Clark & Levy 2004, pp. 309–330.
  20. Scott-Clark & Levy 2004, pp. 322–323, 328.
  21. Scott-Clark & Levy 2004, pp. 108–109, 325.
  22. Scott-Clark & Levy 2004, p. 108-109, 325.
  23. Scott-Clark & Levy 2004, pp. 301–313.
  24. ^ ABC News 2004.
  25. "Go Inside Search for Nazi-Looted '8th Wonder of World'". NBC News. Retrieved Feb 3, 2020.
  26. "10 Rumored Locations Of The Lost Amber Room". listverse.com. Jul 28, 2018. Retrieved Feb 3, 2020.
  27. "Treasure Hunters Claim They Have Found the Long Lost Nazi Amber Room". historycollection.co. Jun 23, 2017. Retrieved Feb 3, 2020.
  28. "Nazi shipwreck found off Poland may solve Amber Room mystery". The Guardian. 1 October 2020. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  29. Metcalfe, Tom (14 October 2020). "Nazi wreck may hold looted treasures bbfrom Russian palace's 'Amber Room'". www.livescience.com. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  30. ^ Russia Beyond the Headlines 2013.
  31. Pravda 2003.
  32. Telegraph 2004.
  33. ^ AskMen 2004.
  34. "Ларец". hermitagemuseum.org (in Russian). Retrieved 18 April 2023.

Sources

Printed

Online

External links

Media related to Amber room at Wikimedia Commons

Showplaces in Catherine Park of Tsarskoye Selo
  • Formal garden
Standard of the Russian Tsar
Buildings
Parklands
Water gardens
  • Landscape garden
Pavilions
Buildings
Water gardens
Parklands

59°42′57″N 30°23′44″E / 59.71583°N 30.39556°E / 59.71583; 30.39556

Categories: