The Amber Room
It’s got everything a good missing treasure tale should have: royalty, rumor and conspiracy, Nazis and untold riches. What’s more, the case of the Amber Room is no legend. There really was an entire room decked out floor-to-ceiling in amber, gold and precious stones, it really did belong to the rulers of both Germany and Russia, and it really was lost to time during the Second World War. Quite simply, it’s one of the greatest stories ever told, and one many believe will have a happy ending one day. But first, let’s start at the beginning…
In 1701, King Frederick I of Prussia commissioned two of the greatest craftsmen of their generation to build a new room for his Charlottenburg Palace. The German sculptor Andreas Schluter, along with the Danish amber artisan Gottfried Wolfram, conceived an entire room decorated with lavish panels. Once installed, these panels would give the impression of being inside an amber shell, amazing any visitors and emphasizing the wealth – and the good taste – of the Prussian king. The whole work took eight years to complete, with the Amber Room finally open in 1709.
King Frederick’s successor, his son William I, however, placed greater store on international relations than on art or luxury. As such, when he wanted to make a peace offering to Peter the Great of Russia, the Amber Room seemed ideal. So, in 1716, the whole room was disassembled and transported all the way to the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. There it stayed for 40 years, until, in 1755, Catherine the Great decided she wanted it moved to her own official residence, the Catherine Palace. There, under the acclaimed Italian architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli, it was expanded, ultimately covering 180 square feet.
In 1941, with Nazi Germany at the gates of the city, Stalin ordered the Amber Room to be protected at all costs. Deemed too delicate to move, the Soviets tried to fool the enemy by covering the ornate panels with simple wallpaper. The ruse was uncovered and the enemy took the room apart and moved the panels back to Germany. Under the expert eye of Alfred Rodhe, the room was re-assembled in Koninsberg Castle, though what happened next is a mystery.
According to some historians, the Amber Room was destroyed by Allied bombing. Others, however, are convinced it survived. Could it be that Rodhe put the panels on a train or a boat that was then either lost in a cave or sunk? Clues to the fate of the treasure are few and far between, though in 1997, a fraction of a mosaic from the original room did turn up. Until the full masterpiece is discovered, a full-scale replica can be seen in St Petersburg.