15. The Amber Room was most likely destroyed towards the end of the Second World War
Originally intended for Charlottenburg Palace, the Amber Room, designed by Andreas Schlüter and constructed from 1701, was eventually installed at the Berlin City Palace. Admired greatly by Peter the Great during a visit to Berlin, in 1716 Frederick William I of Prussia offered the room as a gift to the Russian monarch as part of the Russo-Prussian alliance against Sweden. Relocated to Russia, where Peter’s daughter, Elisabeth, resolved the inestimable treasure should be installed at Catherine Palace, the original design of the Amber Room was reworked and expanded upon across the following decades.
Ultimately comprising more than fifty-five square meters, containing more than six tonnes of amber, the illustrious and decadent Amber Room was widely considered an “Eighth Wonder of the World”. Attempting to disassemble and evacuate the room following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, unable to move the amber without damaging it, efforts were made instead to conceal the treasure behind wallpaper. Unsuccessful, however, the ruse was discovered by Army Group North, who took apart the priceless room in less than thirty-six hours and sent it to Königsberg. Firebombed in August 1944 by the Royal Air Force, as well as suffering under intense artillery fire from the Red Army in April 1945, it is believed the Amber Room was lost forever as a result of the conflict.