The Amber Room: history of creation, figures, facts and secrets. Royal Castle Königsberg, now ruins... Secrets of the Amber Room

The Amber Room - During those long 75 years in history that the “Amber Room” was listed as “missing,” thousands of people sought to reveal its secret. Some devoted days and years to searching for the legendary room, others devoted personal vacations and holidays. There were those who considered the search for the “amber ghost” their life’s work, and there were even those who laid down their lives on the altar of the search. “Death under unclear circumstances” is the most common “diagnosis” for search engines of all ranks. Other seekers immediately begin to believe that those who are unlucky have come too close to solving the amber mystery. And from this it is easy to conclude that in parallel with the people who want the famous room to appear again in the light of God, there are other people whose efforts are aimed at achieving the opposite goal. Start of the journey and change of apartment

Traces of the “eighth wonder of the world,” as the Amber Room was called, are lost in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) in the spring of 1945. But how did it actually get to East Prussia and why did the Germans call the Russian miracle their national treasure?

The Amber Cabinet became the main decoration of the royal palace under Elizabeth Petrovna. The Empress instructed Bartolomeo Rastrelli to place the gift from the Prussian king in the Winter Palace. It wasn't easy. 10 years later - by 1755 - Elizabeth had another idea: to move the Amber Room from the Winter Palace to a specially created state hall of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, which was done with the help of “76 guardsmen, strong men and neat men. Over time, things made from the “sun stone” (as the Slavs called amber) began to accumulate in the Amber Room - hourglasses, snuffboxes, salt shakers, goblets, caskets, checkers, chess sets, ink utensils. The Germans captured the Amber Room in 1941 and transported it to the Royal Castle Museum in Konigsberg. In 1945, she disappeared without a trace (dissolved). Reliable traces cannot be found to this day.

The fate of the most famous search engine, Stein, was tragic. In 1987 he was found dead. The police said it was suicide. But Stein's friends claimed that just before his death, the researcher said that he had finally come close to solving the mystery of the Amber Room - so what would have forced him to take his own life one step away from success? The method of suicide was also puzzling: it turned out that Stein first inflicted several wounds on himself (traces of them were found on his body), and then ripped open his stomach.

Stein, summing up the results of many years of searching, formulated four main versions of the possible location of the Amber Room.

Version one, “Königsberg”: Bernsteinzimmer remained in Königsberg or its environs.
Version two, “Sea”: The Amber Room sank along with the ship on which they tried to take it out of East Prussia.
Version three, “About the mines”: Bernsteinzimmer was safely transported (by sea or land) to Germany and hidden in the mines of Saxony.
Version four, “Overseas”: Arriving at one of the ports of Germany, the Amber Room was intercepted by the Americans and set off on an overseas voyage.

Despite the tragic fate of the original, connoisseurs of the great creation can still see it today. Since 2003, the Amber Room, as in previous times, appears in all its splendor to visitors of the restored Catherine’s palace in Pushkin: three walls 8 m high, the finishing of which took ten tons of the rarest natural material. To make this possible, it was necessary to revive both the interior itself and the “amber school” bit by bit. After all, practically nothing has been preserved from previous knowledge. It took modern craftsmen more than twenty years to complete the restoration work. About half of this time was spent only on preparation: the creation of a machine for processing amber, the search for suitable compositions of glue and dyes, the “invention” of technology used in the 18th century and lost later. And today one can admire the unique palace hall doubly: both as a cultural heritage and as an example of the professionalism of modern restoration artists. They restored the appearance of the room’s decoration almost intuitively, using only a few black and white photographs from 1917-1918. and the memories of eyewitnesses. However, a fragment of a Florentine mosaic from the original room discovered in Germany in 1997 confirmed that the craftsmen were able to amazingly accurately recreate the previous appearance. Thanks to their talent, the Amber Room received a “second life.” From time to time, individual fragments of the amber room surface on the black market, but their fate remains unclear.

Three cities of Königsberg

It is known that in the winter of 1255 a detachment of crusaders invaded the northern part of Prussia and the Samland Peninsula. The most senior “in rank” in the detachment was the Czech king Otakar II Přemysl. The knights captured and destroyed the Prussian fortress of Twangste, and in its place they erected a new fortress from the Slavs and Prussians. The fortress was named Koenigsberg, which means: Royal Mountain. Gradually, settlements arose near the fortress, which became cities.

The settlement between the fortress and the Pregel River was named Altstadt. On February 28, 1286, according to the charter of the Prussian landmaster Konrad von Thierenberg, Altstadt began to officially be called a city.

On May 27, 1300, the Königsberg commander Bruhaven granted city rights to the second settlement. At first it was called Neustadt, but then another name took root - Löbenicht. This city is located east of the fortress.

Over time, nearby craft settlements, villages and settlements began to merge into the Königsberg cities. Thus, a kind of urbanized conglomerate was formed at the mouth of the Pregel. It was dominated by a fortress-castle on the mountain, which, in fact, was called Koenigsberg. Adjoining it was a small territory to the north and north-west, which was the property of the Teutonic Order.

Near the castle, as already mentioned, three medieval cities nestled: Altstadt, Löbenicht and Kneiphof. They had a fairly wide range of privileges included in the concept of Kulm (Helm) law. A system of sovereign city rights developed in Germany back in the 13th century under the name “Magdeburg Law”. Its Prussian version focused on the highest courts of appeal in the city of Kulm (Helm), and then in the city of Thorn (Toruń). City rights, guaranteeing relative independence from feudal authorities, remained in gradually decreasing importance until the 19th century.

How did administrative services work in the Königsberg cities? At first, the right to vote belonged only to the city elite; over time, the majority of citizens received the right to vote.

In each city, a city council of just over ten people was elected. The City Council, in turn, elected the burgomaster and vice-burgomaster, and appointed officials responsible for areas of work. Of course, there was no division into districts in the medieval Königsberg cities. There were communities of citizens, usually coinciding in territory with church communities. At the head of the civil communities were elected elders. The opinion of the elders often played a decisive role when discussing tax policy issues at the City Council. To consider cases concerning the life of the three cities of Königsberg, representatives of the three city halls and all urban and suburban communities gathered together.

This is what a separate episode of a reconstructed city looks like.

The dungeons of Koenigsberg, about which many have heard the most incredible stories, have recently become of particular interest. This happened after the sensational story about a train allegedly discovered in Poland, transporting the Reich's gold reserves during the Second World War. Thanks to these rumors, the old legend received new life. Since the Kaliningrad region was also a transit area for valuables looted by the Nazis, Koenigsberg, the secrets of its dungeons have not yet been revealed, attracted special attention. Throughout the years following the end of the war, attempts were made repeatedly to discover these hypothetical treasures, but none of them were successful. Leaving the city, the Germans partially flooded underground structures, and where they could not do this, they blew them up and thereby barricaded the passages to them. There, deep underground, storage facilities were built for valuables looted during the war, among which is the famous Amber Room.

Relic from Palestine

Kaliningrad archivist Anatoly Bakhtin suggested that something worse than the Amber Cabinet was kept in the dungeons of Konigsberg Castle. We are talking about the Ark of the Covenant!

The ancient shrine disappeared without a trace in time immemorial. It is believed to have been hidden in the depths of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem before being discovered in 70 AD. e. Roman troops stormed Solomon's Temple. So, Bakhtin believes that after more than a thousand years the Knights Templar managed to find the Ark. He was transported to Paris to the headquarters of the order.

And when the Templars, pursued by the French king Philip IV the Fair, found themselves on the verge of extermination, the order’s treasury and relics were sent to the then “bear corner” of Europe - East Prussia, the conquest of which the German Order, the successor of the Templars, had just begun. In the book “The Prussian Trace of the Ark of the Covenant,” Bakhtin writes that the Ark was first kept in Marienburg Castle, then was transported to Balga Castle, and later, quite possibly, to Königsberg.

Currently the city is called Kaliningrad. Its territory is developing dynamically, taking into account the characteristics of old Koenigsberg.

TO Ursha braid is unique is a narrow strip of land up to 2 km wide, separating the waters of the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon. The Curonian Spit is the second longest in the world (its length is 100 km), and the only one in terms of geological features. Here, at a very short distance from each other, very different landscapes coexist: sandy desert, coniferous forests, birch groves. The spit resembles a museum of natural areas. The body of the spit consists of sand covered with a thin (several centimeters thick) plant layer. The formation of this layer took place over many centuries.

There is a version that the Curonian Spit arose as a result of the constant washing of sand, which is brought by the current of the Baltic Sea. But then it remains unclear why in prehistoric times the sand washed up, but now it has stopped, because the width of the spit does not increase and sometimes it breaks into separate sections.

Another version says that the spit arose during the Paleolithic, as a result of a cataclysm that occurred in the Atlantic Ocean. There, a continent or island went under water under the influence of a glacier. The resulting tsunami redrew the coast of the present-day British Isles and other adjacent territories, and reached the Baltic, where two spits appeared: the Baltic and the Curonian. This version is considered more plausible; just look at the photo of the spit taken from a satellite. It shows that the spit could well have been part of the mainland, which later separated from the land.

Lithuanian legend describes in its own way the origin of the Curonian Spit: in those days when there was no spit, the Curonian tribes lived on the coast of the bay, and they were ruled by kings. The beautiful Neringa, the daughter of the powerful King Karvait, was wooed by the Sea Dragon. He brought many treasures from sunken ships as a gift to the royal family, but Neringa refused the monster. Then the angry Dragon, in a rage, began to beat his huge tail on the surface of the sea and a terrible storm broke out, threatening to flood all the villages. Neringa stood up to defend her native land, put on a huge apron, and began to carry mountains of sand in it. The giantess poured sand onto the Dragon's spine until she covered his head. The storm died down, and a sandy road ran into the sea, which was strengthened by the mighty descendants of Neringa and turned it into a flowering spit. Sometimes the Dragon wakes up, and then sandy mountains - dunes - begin to wander along the Curonian Spit.

The legend indirectly confirms the hypothesis about the origin of the spit as a result of a cataclysm - a tsunami.

The modern appearance of the Great Dune Ridge has developed over the last 150–200 years. A significant part of it is fixed. "Living" unfixed dunes make up about 1/2 of the dune ridge. Perpetual motion is their usual state. They intensively disperse and flutter, move, driven by westerly winds to the Curonian Lagoon at a speed of 0.5–5.0 m/year, in places invading its water area, filling it up. At the same time, the dunes change their silhouette, height, and plan configuration; their tops are lowered, flattened, the volume of dunes is reduced due to the natural loss and removal of sand into the Curonian Lagoon

Another legend - Many hundreds of years ago, when the Curonian Spit did not yet exist, a castle built from dark pine logs stood on the seashore. Built from thick tree trunks, it was richly decorated with amber and sea shells and surrounded by spacious halls and shady gardens. Near the castle there was a sanctuary of the good goddess Laima. The ruler of the castle was Karvait - a huge commander and navigator known throughout the country for his power and courage. His wife was as famous for her fidelity as for her beauty. However, they had no children. One day while hunting, Karvait caught a huge elk. He sacrificed him to the goddess Laima and asked her for an heir. Two years later, his wife gave birth to a stunning baby girl. The parents' joy was indescribable. Under a large sacrificial linden tree, Laima received a thanksgiving offering and a great festival was celebrated.
The girl became bigger and more beautiful day by day. But strange! When the girl grew up, she became big with a long oblique, which she cut off and threw into the sea. Subsequently, sand got into the spit and the Curonian Spit was formed.

The ancient Prussians worshiped mighty trees. The pagans did not know the true God, and sought protection from the raging elements in sacred oak forests. In those days, the spit was an island covered with tall forest. It was possible to get here only through a wide strait. Prussian warriors guarded the approaches to the island; they were especially afraid of people of other faiths, since their arrival could violate the inviolability of the sacred groves. Historical artifacts about it can still be found. Only one Christian girl was allowed onto the spit by the formidable guardians. There was nothing in her boat except a harp, and she was allowed to teach the girls how to play this instrument. The image of the maiden was so beautiful that all the forest spirits whispered words of admiration after her. A local prince fell in love with her. One day, the Prince took off a precious bracelet from his hand and gave it to his bride, and the birds wove her a wreath of white flowers. The settlement, which some time later arose around the dancing forest, was named after the princess - Predin. And even when, many centuries later, a wandering dune covered the village with sand, a dancing forest rose again in the old place. The harp has also been preserved - its all-conquering music is heard every time the restless wind touches the pine trunks of her hand. This is one of the many legends about the unique Curonian Spit.

The history of Russia knows three mysteries related to the disappearance of Russian works of art.

Thus, in the 16th century, Ivan the Terrible’s library, a unique collection of Russian and foreign literature, disappeared without a trace. In 1812, leaving the capital of the Russian Empire, Napoleon Bonaparte captured “Moscow booty,” mainly church items stolen from Kremlin churches. And in 1941, the Germans removed the Amber Room from the Catherine Palace. Perhaps the most hypotheses and speculations were generated by what could have happened to her after 1945.

Today, the vast majority of literate people know about the existence of the Amber Room from the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. However, few of those who stood at the origins of the birth of this miracle by human hands could have imagined that the Amber Room was destined for a fantastically incredible fate to be in the center of attention of many generations over the course of three centuries.

Hundreds of books, thousands of articles and dozens of films have been made about the Amber Room. The Amber Room itself has not yet been found, which, you see, adds the charm of an unsolved mystery to our story. Of course, the result is always interesting, but the investigation process is even more exciting.

They are looking for writers, journalists, directors, historians, and search engines. Gradually, the problem of the Amber Room became multifaceted: politicians, diplomats, heads of government and presidents, officials, police officers, customs officers, intelligence officers, soothsayers and clairvoyants and, naturally, criminal elements were included in the search.

How it all began

And everything started out great. 300 years ago, the Prussian King Frederick competed in vain with his French counterpart Louis XIV, known as the “Sun King.” And in order to outdo him, he ordered the Amber Cabinet to be made for the palace in Berlin.

And suddenly Frederick I, the Prussian king, had an idea - to transform amber from a material for small, household items into the interior, into architecture, a completely different area.

In 1709, the Amber Cabinet was inaugurated, and two weeks later the entire structure collapsed. Some of the mirrors and panels were destroyed, and the survivors were sent to Zeichgauz.

Four years later, Frederick I died. His son, Frederick William I, took the throne, who had little interest in the beauty of the palace, and spent all his savings on the royal guard. In addition, he was extremely stingy, and in 1716, when Peter I unexpectedly came to Berlin, Friedrich Wilhelm was painfully thinking about what to give to the powerful Russian Tsar. A solution has been found. In the closet there were amber paintings that no one wanted. Peter I had already seen them before, when he visited Wilhelm’s father, and was amazed by the amber curiosity. On January 13, 1717, the cargo with the Amber Room arrived in St. Petersburg, about which there is a corresponding document.

Friedrich Wilhelm I

1743 The daughter of Peter I, Elizaveta Petrovna, issues a decree, which states that “the Yantarny office is for cleaning the apartments in the Winter House, in which I, the Imperial Majesty, deign to reside, accept and equip.” Elizaveta Petrovna constantly thought about “the greatness of our imperial dignity” and surrounded herself with luxury: new palaces, not embarrassed to appear before the public in the image of the mythical Flora, and then decided that she needed a country palace in Tsarskoe Selo.

To a large extent, the credit for creating the amber miracle belongs to Count Bartolomeo Rastrelli.

Interestingly, Rastrelli had a much larger room than Friedrich's office, and he was the first to introduce the motif of mirror pilasters. It seemed that the entire hall was decorated with amber. An important decorative detail of the Amber Cabinet were the mosaics that Elizaveta Petrovna received as a gift. But the trouble is that there were only three frames, and the fourth frame was missing. Frederick the Great, having learned about this, immediately ordered a frame from Danzig craftsmen and solemnly presented it to Elizaveta Petrovna with the appropriate verses, which noted the military merits of Elizaveta Petrovna. The military exploits were clearly exaggerated. Elizaveta Petrovna was moved and paid Master Zur 500 rubles for his efforts.

Since then, for 200 years, the Amber Room has remained as Rastrelli made it.

Elizaveta Petrovna.

The further fate of the Amber Room

But the further fate of the masterpiece was sad. In May 1820, the room was almost destroyed by fire, after which Thurau and Roggenburg undertook its restoration; in 1830 and 1897 it was restored again.

Under Soviet rule, Tsarskoye Selo was renamed the city of Pushkin, and the Catherine Palace became a museum. Until the start of the war, repeated unsuccessful attempts at restoration were made. The room was in a deplorable state; when trying to begin dismantling, pieces of amber fell off, and the wooden base cracked and deformed.

On September 17, 1941, at four o'clock in the afternoon, German troops entered Pushkin. The Catherine Palace was destroyed and looted. The Amber Room was saved from complete destruction only by the arrival of those responsible for replenishing the Reich museums - Captain Poensgen and Count Solms-Laubach. The room was dismantled, packed and sent on 27 trucks to the Severnaya station, from where it was transported by rail to Koenigsberg...

A completely logical question arises: why was the room not evacuated to the rear from June 22 to September 17, 1941?

32 thousand items from the exhibition of the Catherine Palace still managed to be taken to the rear, but for some reason the most expensive exhibit was left behind. After all, the museum staff had almost three months to dismantle and evacuate it, while seven German soldiers were able to dismantle it in just 36 hours. There are a number of circumstances due to which a unique work of art remained in the Catherine Palace.

Larisa Bardovskaya (Deputy Director of the Tsarskoe Selo State Museum-Reserve):

“And the Amber Room is a special case because it was crumbling. And when they started dismantling it, the mosaics began to crumble.”

Photo: Pavel Markin

I am amber – it’s really quite a fragile material. But the room was constantly being restored. Its first repair took place in the middle of the 18th century and cost the imperial treasury 75,977 rubles - this was huge money at that time; it could have been used to buy several estates. All further restorations also cost a lot of money. Therefore, it is hard to believe that the amber panels have worn out so seriously.

The eighth wonder of the world is what the Amber Room is called throughout the world. It stood in Russia for 224 years. And, without a doubt, it would have stood to this day if not for the war, which in September 1941 destroyed the Catherine Palace.

So why didn’t the Soviet authorities have enough whole three months to save the unique relic? And six German soldiers, under the leadership of a non-commissioned officer, dismantled the Amber Room in 36 hours, put the panels in boxes and calmly sent it all to Königsberg.

Due to the offensive Soviet military doctrine, evacuation plans were in the very last place and were not considered as a possible development of events.

One way or another, the Amber Room went to Konigsberg, a city that she had already visited and where a much more dramatic page in her fate began. Renamed by the Nazis as “the property of the German nation,” the Amber Room was kept in Königsberg until 1944, when Soviet troops entered East Prussia.

A Soviet unit in a street battle in Koenigsberg.

On August 28, 1944, during a British air raid, the royal castle, where the dismantled and packed Amber Room was stored in the basements, was completely burned down.

After the capture of Koenigsberg, the leadership of the commission for the removal of valuables was entrusted to Professor Alexander Bryusov, an art critic and historian - brother of the famous poet Valery Bryusov. He was tasked with finding stolen Soviet valuables hidden in Königsberg. The professor was an archaeologist, didn't know where to start, and didn't have the slightest idea what the Amber Room looked like.

The main character of the drama, Doctor Alfred Rode, was not at all interested in Bryusov until Rode himself came to him. But not to report on the Amber Room, but to get a job and get food cards. And only after some time Rode shows Bryusov the bunker, where some of the stolen goods turned out to be. And regarding the Amber Room, Rode stated that it burned down during the raid, and showed Bryusov a pile of charred remains.

The professor readily believed and drew up a statement that the Amber Room had burned down. Dr. Rode immediately disappeared somewhere, and one day Professor Bryusov was walking through the evening city and saw Rode, who was burning some papers. However, Bryusov, who was in no hurry, did not immediately read the documents, and in vain... It turned out to be Dr. Rohde’s correspondence with the Fuhrer himself.

Three times orders came demanding that the Amber Room be delivered to Berlin, but Dr. Rode found more and more reasons to keep the room in Königsberg. And now, at the end of 1944, he answers Hitler:

1. The railways were cut by the Reds;
2. We don’t risk sending by sea, it is actively controlled by the enemy;
3. Red aircraft are constantly in the air.
I give a state guarantee that the Amber Room is stored in a fairly safe place - in the third tier of the bunker, the entrance is disguised.
Heil Hitler!
Rohde, director.

It remains to find out which bunker we are talking about. They began to look for Rode and found only a certificate stating that Rode and his wife died in December 1945 from dysentery in this hospital.

In 1946, Anatoly Kuchumov - the same one who was responsible for the evacuation of the Tsarskoe Selo Museum - learns that Professor Bryusov considers the Amber Room to have burned down, and immediately goes to Kaliningrad together with art critic Stanislav Tronchinsky. Arriving, they explored the hall of the Royal Palace, where the remains of the Amber Room were allegedly discovered.

The ruins of the royal castle in Königsberg, where the missing Amber Room was last exhibited in 1944. Photo from 1946. Photo: RIA Novosti

Three mosaics were immediately found that had actually been on fire. It is strange that Professor Bryusov did not notice them. When I tried to pick it up, the mosaics fell apart, because the stone burned out. Kuchumov did not find any other traces of the burnt Amber Room - pieces of melted mirrors and amber would certainly remain. The version of the death of the Amber Room in the fire was not confirmed, which Professor Bryusov later admitted.

Chain of disappearances of all persons involved

Simultaneously with the search for the Amber Room, accidents occur one after another with those involved in the search for the Amber Room.

The director of the Prussian Museum, Dr. Alfred Rohde, the largest connoisseur of museum rarities, died suddenly along with his wife, Elsa Rohde, from “bloody dysentery.” When their graves were opened at the St. Louise cemetery, the bodies were not found... Lieutenant Colonel Paul Encke, a senior official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR, died under unclear circumstances in Berlin... Major Ivan Kuritsa, who was on his way to a meeting with an important witness, died on the way: a wire stretched across the road his head was cut off. The witness he was never able to meet was strangled...

These and many other deaths formed a mysterious chain of murders in the search for a unique masterpiece. There are still ongoing debates about where the Amber Room disappeared, whether it burned down during the bombing of British aircraft on the night of August 27-28, 1944, or is still stored in one of the German bunkers.

The Amber Room before the war

Interesting fact

One of Mr. Rohde's school friends met him the day after the bombing of Königsberg. He was pale, arrived shortly before her, and she asked: “What about the Amber Room?” His answer: “It’s over, it’s over...”

“I was so scared, and he told me: “I’ll show it to you.” And he took me to the basement opposite the restaurant. We walked through the ashes, down the stairs. There was a terrible smell of burning. There was a mass that looked like honey, with pieces of wood sticking out of it.

However, the Amber Room did not burn down during these fires. Rode himself confirms this.

On September 2, 1944, he reported to Berlin that the Amber Room remained intact except for six base plates.

There are five main versions of the disappearance of the Amber Room.

First version. Cache in the Kaliningrad region. Started by numerous lone treasure hunters and representatives of various organizations, the search was officially stopped only in 1984. During the search, more than 250 supposed locations of its location were examined, but it was not found in any of them. During numerous excavations, the version about the destruction of the room during the bombing in August 1944 was also not confirmed.

Second version. The cabinet was evacuated from East Prussia and taken to Germany, and from there to South America. There are many possible places where it could be located.

Third version. Boxes with priceless cargo were taken to West Prussia and buried in what is now Poland. One of the Polish scientists, Jan Goch, has eyewitness accounts and historical documents that clearly show that the Amber Room was hidden by the Nazis in the territory of the village of Dargobondz.

Fourth version. The masterpiece was dismantled into pieces, taken to the central lands of the Third Reich and safely hidden in secret depositories. It is possible that in the future the room was transferred with secret archives to representatives of the US Army.

Fifth version. There is an assumption that the room may be located on the territory of the former USSR, where it was taken after the capture of the Prussian fortress. But this version is the least plausible, since the Soviet Union spent huge amounts of money on the search and restoration of the Amber Room.

A little over a decade ago, an updated copy of the Amber Room took its place of honor in Tsarskoe Selo. The official opening took place on May 31, 2003, during the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. The ceremony was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.

So, the mystery of the original Amber Room remains unsolved, and anyone can again admire its copy. However, the controversy surrounding the mysterious disappearance of a unique masterpiece does not subside, and the search continues to this day...

Well, just recently Channel One showed a film - an investigation in two parts - about the disappearance of the Amber Room. A lot of work was done, but the ending turned out to be painfully predictable:

“To answer the question: “Where are these storage facilities?” - We couldn’t do it on our own. Apparently, our search has reached the stage where it needs to be continued at the state level.

We now know the entire path of the Amber Room. For certain reasons, we cannot show it to you. True, experts say that the copy is much better than the original, although this does not mean that justice should not be restored!”

Tsarskoe Selo, St. Petersburg

The Russian name for amber comes from the Lithuanian word “gintaras,” which literally means “protection from disease.” In Ancient Rus', wealthy people put threads studded with amber on their nannies and wet nurses to protect their children from the evil eye. In Germany, until World War II, amber beads were tied around the necks of young children so that they could grow strong and healthy teeth painlessly. It is also believed that amber gives its owner an impulse of creativity, strengthens physical strength, faith, maintains optimism and vigor. Perhaps the Amber Room will turn out to be a panacea for all the problems that have not been resolved in the past or will arise in the future in relations between Germany and Russia.

Found a mistake? Select it and press left Ctrl+Enter.

Today's article is a little unusual, the fact is that lock Koenigsbergis a landmark that does not exist. Nevertheless, in the minds of Kaliningrad residents and even more so in the fantasies of visiting tourists, the castle continues to live and attract attention. So let's talk about it.

How to find Königsberg Castle

The castle itself can be found in the 19th century, for example, or earlier. Today, only his remains can be seen in the historical district of Altstadt. The most noticeable landmark in Kaliningrad is the House of Soviets in the center. There was a castle next to it.

Of course, the castle did not disappear without a trace; its foundation is still hidden under the square near the House of Soviets. Now it’s not even hidden - excavations and the remains of the castle can be seen there. We’ll find out how a little later.

the Amber Room

Another truly mysterious attraction of Kaliningrad is the Amber Room. If everything is clear with the castle, then nothing is clear with the room. The room that is located in Peterhof is a copy. The last place where the real Amber Room was seen was Königsberg Castle. Her trace disappeared in 1945 somewhere in the basements of the castle. And what’s interesting is that the basements are still intact... So, maybe they will find her in the near future.

On the other hand, if the room was actually in the castle at the end of the war, it is possible that it has been lost. The fact is that as a result of the assault on the city, and thanks to British aviation in particular, a strong fire started in the castle. Amber melts at high temperatures, so there is a chance that the Amber Room no longer exists.

The location of the Amber Room is the main secret of Kaliningrad and post-war Russia.

What can you see

View of the opened cellars of the castle from the House of Soviets.

From above, everything is clearly visible: the contours of the castle, its size, the place where the tower stood - everything can be seen. And if you use your imagination, the castle looms right in front of you. Only, unfortunately, this is all that remains of the castle.

What happened to the castle

Most discussions about who is to blame for the fact that the castle has not survived are based on personal political preferences. Usually, either the Germans or the Russians are to blame. In fact, it is difficult to find the culprits. Let’s just accept that, based on the totality of historical factors, there is no castle.

So what happened? Like most historical monuments of Königsberg, the castle was badly damaged during the Second World War. As I wrote above, during the assault, a fire started in the castle. Everything inside was burned out and part of the walls collapsed. There are old Soviet photographs showing the condition of the castle.

This is what the castle tower looked like in 1949.

Round tower at the corner of the castle.

The ruins of the castle stood in the middle of the city until 1967, when they were demolished despite protests. The castle was blown up. Why did you decide to do this? It’s hard to say; restoring it was very difficult; leaving it in the state it was in after the war also made no sense, and it was dangerous. It doesn't matter, the result is that it was blown up.

What was he like

At the beginning of the 13th century, the Sambs, a Prussian pagan tribe, lived in the territory of eastern Prussia. Accordingly, their lands were called Sambia. There was no trace of East Prussia at that time.

In 1253, the Czech king dies, and his son Přemysl Otakar II takes over the Czech Republic. The next year, under the influence of the then Pope of Rome, Přemysl set out to bring the true Christian faith to the barbarians and conquer their lands in one go. In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church used Christianity in a similar way to how democracy is used today. This was done by the knightly Teutonic Order - the Crusaders.

It was not possible to capture Sambov on the first attempt. The Prussians finally surrendered in 1255. To gain a foothold in the new lands, Přemysl II and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Poppo von Ostern, founded a new fortress on the Pregel River - Königsberg in Preußen - a royal city in Prussia. The fortress was founded near the Prussian settlement of Tuvangste.

The Prussians obediently accepted Christianity. Those who did not want to do this were mercilessly exterminated.

This is how Königsberg and the Royal Castle began their history.

In Kaliningrad, on the Royal Gate, a sculpture of Přemysl II has been preserved.

The fortress was founded on a hill, next to the Prussian settlement of Tuvangste. Initially, the fortress was wooden. It was rebuilt and completed until it finally became the Royal Castle of Königsberg.

The castle tower was the tallest building in the city - 84.5 meters. That is, the view from the roof of the House of Soviets is almost the same as from the castle tower. Think about this when you get there.

The Royal Castle is located in the very center of the city in the form of a huge quadrangle with a huge courtyard measuring 105 meters long and 67 meters wide. You can explore the castle every day: in summer from 10 to 2 o'clock (on Sundays from 11 to 2), in winter from 11 to 2 o'clock. Entrance from the castle courtyard is through the door of the so-called small chamber. Admission is 25 pfennigs, which is paid to the castellan on the first floor; Entrance fees go to charity. Unfortunately, the size of the guidebook does not give us the opportunity to dwell in detail on the description of the castle, both in historical and artistic terms.

Let's say only that the castle has many interesting rooms where German emperors and empresses lived, in which valuable and very interesting paintings are kept to this day. We recommend Russian travelers to visit the royal castle. Upon request, the attendant showing the castle gives visitors a brief explanation.

A guide to Königsberg and surrounding seaside resorts for Russian travelers. 1912.

By the way, the same guidebook indicates the exchange rate of the ruble to the German mark: “For 100 rubles you get 216 - 217 marks.” That is, the ruble was twice as expensive as the mark.

The castle had extensive cellars, one of which in recent years housed the wine restaurant Blütgericht - from German Bloody Judgment.

So lockKoenigsberg existed until 1945. Now there is talk about recreating the castle, it is not yet clear in whole or in part, but this idea is very popular among the residents of Kaliningrad. We hope that this will be the case.

How it all began

Everyone who has ever visited this ancient Hanseatic city has retained in their memory the image of a fairy-tale kingdom, the poetry of which is embodied in wonderful buildings and works of amber art.

Alexander Kedrinsky, architect, author of the project to recreate the Amber Room:
“There were entire guilds of amber craftsmen, jewelers who knew how to make incomparable products. They were so valuable, so unusual that, as a rule, the rulers of these states gave gifts to foreign courts: caskets, mirror frames, cups...

And suddenly Frederick I, the Prussian king, had an idea - to transform amber from a material for small, household items into the interior, into architecture, a completely different area.

In 1709, the Amber Cabinet was inaugurated, and two weeks later the entire structure collapsed. Some of the mirrors and panels were destroyed, and the survivors were sent to Zeichgauz.

A solution has been found. In the closet there were amber paintings that no one wanted. Peter I had already seen them before, when he visited Wilhelm’s father, and was amazed by the amber curiosity. On January 13, 1717, the cargo with the Amber Room arrived in St. Petersburg, about which there is a corresponding document.

To a large extent, the credit for creating the amber miracle belongs to Count Bartolomeo Rastrelli.

Since then, for 200 years, the Amber Room has remained as Rastrelli made it.

Operation Linz

Now let's go to 1934, to Germany, to Nuremberg, where we will get acquainted with Adolf Hitler's program, which was directly related to the fate of the Amber Room.

Nazi Party Congress. When the Fuhrer sees himself on such a majestic podium, his mood clearly improves. No – greatness is not the last thing! All the dictators of the world think about greatness - from ancient Rome to the present day. And the Fuhrer thought tirelessly about great Germany, about the chosen people, and, of course, about himself. And he had a big dream - to give the Germans the greatest museum in the world, which would surpass the Louvre, the Hermitage and the Metropolitan Museum of Art combined.

And Hitler decided to build this museum in his native Linz, a small Austrian town on the Danube.

So, “Operation Linz”: create a grandiose museum of all nations, build it in your native Linz... It can be built. But where can I get the exhibits? The solution is simple - take away the repressed Jews, rob the occupied countries, and threaten to force the owners to sell world masterpieces for next to nothing. Well, and, of course, our own, native, Aryan art.

To Russia for the Amber Room

Eastern front. Together with the 6th Army “Nord” we will reach Pushkin, where German troops entered on September 17, 1941. Anatoly Mikhailovich Kuchumov, who was responsible for the evacuation of the museum’s collection, talks about this in a German film.

From the film directed by Philip Remy “The Amber Room. The End of the Legend", 1991. Anatoly Kuchumov, employee of the Tsarskoye Selo Museum:
– Already in 1936, there were lists of the most valuable works of art to be evacuated, although the Amber Room was not on this list. We decided to evacuate it. They wrapped everything in tissue paper and decided to take out the panels, but they began to crumble. We contacted the city party leadership: they decided to leave the Amber Room in place. It was carefully covered with paper, gauze and cotton wool, and then covered with boards on top. They had no idea about the further fate of the room.

Amazingly, the Amber Room was not included in the list of the most valuable works of art and therefore was not evacuated. While the German generals admired Leningrad visible on the horizon, the Sonderkommando under the leadership of Colonel Count Solms-Laubach arrived in the Amber Room. They did not admire the eighth wonder of the world, but quickly dismantled and packed the Amber Room in boxes within 36 hours.

Friedrich Graf zu Solms-Laubach, Frankfurt:
“My father saw the deplorable state of the Catherine Palace and could not help but stand up for it. Of course, the works of art should have been placed in a more suitable place. Of course, it is impossible to imagine that my father cared about his own benefit; he did not want to take anything for himself and gave the order to pack the Amber Room first in carpets, then in curtains, and then in wooden boxes.

And that's true. If Laubach had even thought of taking something for himself, he would have had to deal with Gauleiter Erich Koch, who was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Amber Room in Königsberg, and with him, Dr. Alfred Rohde, director of the art collections of the museum at the Royal Castle, was waiting for the Amber Room.

The fact is that Dr. Rohde dreamed of getting the Amber Room all his life and turned to Gauleiter Koch in advance.

Koch, Hitler's favorite, asks the commander of the Nord army Küchler to take under the protection of a work of art dear to the heart of every civilized person - the Amber Room. Küchler sends the Solms-Laubach Sonderkommando, and now the Amber Room is already in Königsberg.

Dr. Rohde's son Wolfgang says:
“My father was passionate about his profession and was happy that the Amber Room, which he considered an outstanding work of art, was exhibited in his museum, just like any other director who would manage to get the Mona Lisa for his museum.” He said that after the war, National Socialism should disappear, and the captured works of art should be returned to where they came from.

However, the inspired Rohde, having received the room, thought differently and immediately wrote an article in the Munich “Pantheon”, in which he informed Greater Germany of great joy: “The Amber Room has returned, literally and figuratively, to its homeland, within the boundaries of Greater Germany. There is no doubt that this masterpiece of the amber miracle will never, under any circumstances, return to Russia, because this is comparable to one thing - the destruction of everything that we call Great Germany.”

Yes, Dr. Rohde had absolutely no intention of returning the Amber Room to Russia.

The Amber Room and the “greatness of the 3rd Reich”

Having received the Amber Room, Dr. Rohde deployed it in one of the halls of the castle. It did not fit completely, because the room was much smaller than the hall in Tsarskoe Selo. And the condition of the Amber Room turned out to be unimportant - many details were lost and damaged. And most importantly, one of the mosaics “Touch and Smell” was missing.

This one. It is she who, many years later, will become the cause of dramatic events.

However, Dr. Rohde was well aware that holding the Amber Room would not be easy at all. And soon Alfred Rosenberg, who headed the Ministry for the Eastern Territories, made himself known, or rather, organized the systematic robbery of the occupied countries. This was Eisenstadt, who worked to implement the Fuhrer’s idea of Operation Linz.

Rosenberg sent Koch a letter: “Dear Parteigenosse Koch! The Amber Room should return exactly to where it was taken from 200 years ago. There, in Berlin, this amber miracle will symbolize the greatness of the Third Reich. I spoke to the Fuhrer about this, the Fuhrer agrees.”

Erich Koch objected: “The greatness of the Third Reich will be most impressive if the Amber Room is located in Königsberg, as a symbol of the inviolability of the Reich’s borders. I talked to the Fuhrer about this, and the Fuhrer agrees."

In short, Rosenberg began to realize that he would never get the Amber Room.

Hermann Goering, an air field marshal, had a huge collection of art treasures and was not averse to getting the Amber Room for himself. He repeatedly called Koch and even threatened him. Koch was not afraid and invited Goering to take a souvenir photograph in the Amber Room. However, there was no calm.

The director of the Dresden National Gallery, Dr. Hans Posse, who arrived in Königsberg, received unlimited powers from Hitler to select the captured valuables and informed Rohde that the Amber Room would still have to be given to the dear Fuhrer, to the Museum of All Nations in Linz. In addition, doctors strongly recommend that the Fuhrer periodically stay in the healing amber field.

Here is what the outstanding amber specialist Georg Taterra said about the Fuhrer’s love for the sunstone: “Many amber processing enterprises worked for Hitler. If one of the politicians wanted to please him, he would give him items made of amber, which, according to the Fuhrer, had warm healing properties that saved him from cramps and rheumatic pain. As soon as Hitler seized power, he uttered the famous phrase: “Amber is German gold” and regularly visited the amber factory near Königsberg.”

Gauleiter Koch - all attention: what will interest the dear Fuhrer this time?

It must be said that Doctor Posse was a very respectable figure in the Reich and it was impossible not to take him into account.

Rohde calls Erich Koch in a panic, and the problem is unexpectedly and quickly solved: returning to Dresden, Dr. Posse suddenly died from an unknown illness, although the day before he felt completely healthy. Posse did not have time to report to the Fuhrer, and the Amber Room remained in Königsberg.

Hitler learned that the Amber Room was in Königsberg in November 1942 from a TASS report. The Fuhrer demanded clarification from Ribbentrop and received the following answer: “The Amber Cabinet, a gift from King Friedrich Wilhelm to Peter the Great, was taken from the Catherine Castle in the fall of 1941 to a safe place. Moreover, individual parts were taken out. The office was temporarily located in Königsberg Castle. Thus, this unique work of art has been preserved from destruction. At the same time, 18 trucks of the most valuable furniture and other works of art and, above all, paintings were taken to Königsberg for their better preservation. Heil Hitler! Joachim von Ribbentrop, Reich Foreign Minister."

How to protect the Amber Room

And Dr. Rohde continued to take care of the Amber Room. Real trouble came in 1944, when the British began methodically bombing Koenigsberg.

However, the Amber Room did not burn down during these fires.

Rode himself confirms this.

On September 2, 1944, he reported to Berlin that the Amber Room remained intact except for six base plates.

The frightened Doctor Rohde quickly looks for a place where he could move the Amber Room.

And the first person he visits was Prince Zu Dona from Schlobitten:
– Apparently, in 1944, I received a letter from the burgomaster of Königsberg with a request to place the Amber Cabinet in the castle. To which I immediately replied: “The basements here are very damp, so they cannot be taken into account at all for storing works of art.”

Dr. Rohde is assigned to look for another castle, and he leaves for Saxony. Rode's choice falls on the Elsterberg fortress near Rochlitz. In his report, he writes that the church, side extensions, and rooms behind the choir can be used there. But now no one can say whether the boxes with the Amber Room went to Rochlitz...

Professor Bryusov's mission

Chronicle:
– The citadel fell: Königsberg, the capital of Prussia, a centuries-old stronghold of the German military in the east, was taken. Our cameraman filmed those who crushed the last fortifications of Koenigsberg. Each of them received a personalized letter of gratitude from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Stalin.

Captured Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) was a pile of ruins. The first architect of Kaliningrad, a participant in the assault, Arseny Maksimov, left us watercolors, and we can judge what this city has become.

It was in such a city that Professor Alexander Bryusov, brother of the famous poet Valery Bryusov, came. He was tasked with finding stolen Soviet valuables hidden in Königsberg. The professor was an archaeologist, didn't know where to start, and didn't have the slightest idea what the Amber Room looked like.

Three times orders came demanding that the Amber Room be delivered to Berlin, but Dr. Rode found more and more reasons to keep the room in Königsberg. And now, at the end of 1944, he answers Hitler. After assurances of respect and respect for the great Fuhrer, we read:

Leaving Germany in 1946, Kuchumov equipped the Pullman car with exhibits and furniture from the suburban palaces and museums of Leningrad, which were considered lost for almost 5 years, and a few weeks later the car arrived in Leningrad.

However, German director Maurice Philip Remy is confident that the Amber Room was destroyed during the bombing in Königsberg:
– There were two commissions – Bryusov and Kuchumov. Kuchumov’s argument is not entirely logical. At this temperature, amber burns without a trace, the mirrors were destroyed even earlier during air raids, and everything that does not burn was found. For example, door hinges. What other evidence could there be that it didn’t burn?

And everything would be wonderful if Dr. Rohde himself had not refuted this version.

– During interrogation by the Soviet commandant, he claimed that the boxes with the Amber Room were located within the castle until April 5, 1945, and the assault on Koenigsberg began exactly one day later. Naturally, there could be no talk of removing these boxes.

Another character in our drama is the former Gauleiter of East Prussia, Erich Koch.

When the war ended, Koch disappeared and showed up in 1949 in Hamburg, where the British arrested a certain Major Rudolf Berger. It turned out that this was Erich Koch, who had undergone plastic surgery, who was visiting his wife on the outskirts of Hamburg and became a victim of his love. He was extradited to Poland, and in 1958 a trial took place in Warsaw. In 1959, he was sentenced to death, and the execution was commuted to life imprisonment due to Koch's health.

Ryszard Badowski, Polish writer and director, author of one of the first films about the Amber Room:
– Koch participated in the fate of the Amber Room – that’s certain. Many believed that he was pardoned because he had to tell this secret before his death. No one knows for sure why Koch was pardoned. Polish journalist Slava Mirovolsky claims that Koch personally told him many stories related to the disappearance of the Amber Room, or rather, its hiding. But this is a very dubious version. Either Koch lied to him, or he made it up.

Leon Czaja (Olsztyn), former director of the prison where Erich Koch was held, says:
“I remember how Erich – everyone called him that – approached me with an offer to show me the place where the Amber Room was hidden, in exchange for freedom. Then he will go to Kaliningrad and show this place. And I told him: “Erich, you don’t think that the people in the Polish government are so stupid that they will believe you and let you go, and you will run away to your Germany?” I had conversations with him many times and I’m almost sure that Koch knew where the Amber Office was and was speculating on it.

And here is the prison in which Erich Koch spent his last years. He reflected on the world that lay beyond the walls of his prison:
“For 36 years, sitting in solitary confinement and watching the theater of life from my box, I understood a lot. And I am especially proud that I remained myself. Yes, I tried to change the world, but I couldn't...

Koch took the secret of the Amber Room to the grave.

The search continues

In 1949, a group of Leningrad art historians came to Germany for additional searches for valuables taken from Russia. There they met Gerhard Strauss. In the conversation, Strauss casually said that he knew places in Königsberg where valuables were hidden. And at that time it was almost impossible to get into Kaliningrad - it was a closed city. Art historians decided and wrote a letter personally to Comrade Stalin saying that it was very likely that the famous Amber Room would be discovered.

The leader gave orders quite quickly and wrote: “Deliver Doctor Strauss to Kaliningrad, and the Amber Room to its destination. Joseph Stalin".

Of course, everyone rushed to carry out the leader’s order, and within three days Dr. Strauss quickly moved to his once native land.

Here they were eagerly waiting for him to fulfill the second part of Comrade Stalin’s command. But this had to wait.

Dr. Strauss walked around the city for a long time, getting confused in the streets and buildings, and, having visited the ruins of the Royal Castle, he somehow immediately calmed down, and everyone got the impression: Dr. Strauss wanted to make sure that the Russians had not found anything.

Comrade Stalin remembered the Amber Room once again. The former second secretary of the Kaliningrad regional party committee, Veniamin Krolevsky, recalls that one day the first secretary Shcherbakov called him and excitedly told him that Comrade Molotov had just called him and told him how Comrade Stalin asked: “Where is the Amber Room?” Comrade Molotov could not answer anything. “You must know where the Amber Room is,” said Comrade Molotov, “if you don’t know, immediately organize a search.” A search was organized, but to no avail.

Baron Falz-Fein's team

1999 More and more worthy people were included in the search. And to get acquainted with one of them, let's go to Liechtenstein to the famous Baron Falz-Fein who thinks day and night how to help Russia - his homeland - and spends a lot of money on it. And he earns them by selling souvenirs:
– I can’t imagine, people wrote us dozens of letters: I know where the Amber Room is. Send me 500 dollars, I’ll go there and I’m sure I’ll find her. And we believed in it and gave that kind of money. Of course, they found nothing. Now I answer every letter: I don’t give any money in advance, find her first, and then you will receive half a million dollars. I explained and confirmed that I’m ready to give half a million dollars if someone finds me this room, and then I’ll go to President Yeltsin and say: “I found you the Amber Room, it’s worth millions, a hundred thousand million, maybe give it to me.” me the money that I gave as a bonus.” I am sure that President Yeltsin will give them to me. Is it true?

It’s unlikely, of course, but at least President Yeltsin is no longer in danger.

– Do you know that I was one of the first who came to Königsberg with German television after the war? We searched and searched, but, of course, we didn’t find anything... But at that time some comedian in Königsberg came up with the following medal: “I know where the Amber Room is!” and sold it.

The baron's associates were Georges Simenon and Yulian Semyonov. Yulian Semyonov amazed with his extraordinary activity, dynamism and rare determination. Of course, he had more opportunities than others in the search for the Amber Room, because he worked as the Literary Gazette's own correspondent in Bonn. He made numerous trips to the cities and mines of Germany in order to check how real the version of the burial of the Amber Room there was.

Now about another colleague of the baron - Georg Stein.

Eduard Falz-Fein:
– This is a figure who will forever remain in the history of the search for the Amber Room... I met Georg Stein through Yulian Semyonov, he came to me very often, I helped him on a financial level, because, unfortunately, he spent everything on the search for the Amber Room... And then one fine day he said: “You know, if you don’t help me financially, I won’t be able to look for the Amber Room anymore.” I replied that I was doing well, don’t worry, I’d be happy to help, etc. And you won’t believe it - two weeks before his death he was still with me. I came back from Berlin and received a letter from him: “I am staying near Munich with friends, but I no longer have the strength to do research...” The letter ends very sadly... And the next day in the newspaper on the first page I see: “Georg Stein committed suicide."

Crime chronicle Spiegel TV:
– August 21, 1987. The town of Alfdorf, in Lower Bavaria. On this day, one person walking here made a terrible discovery: on the outskirts of the forest, he found the corpse of a man who had horribly committed suicide. Later, near the body, the police found two scissors, two knives and a scalpel, which the man had stuck into his stomach. This man was Georg Stein. He devoted 20 years of his life to searching for one of the most valuable works of art in the world. Abandoned by everyone, impoverished and desperate, he eventually abandoned this search. One of his friends wrote after this tragic voluntary death: “Stein deserved a better life, a better death and more recognition for his work.”

Robert Stein:
“Father’s material interests were not in the foreground. But still, the hope did not leave him that if he found the Amber Cabinet, he would receive some kind of material reward.

Georg Stein's main achievement was his so-called will - a huge archive of original documents about the fate of stolen valuables, on the creation of which Stein spent his entire fortune.

Baron Falz-Fein bought the archive from Stein's children and donated it to Russia.

What was hidden at the Olga S-3 training ground

President Yeltsin's first official visit to Germany. Russian troops were leaving their bases and, when leaving, they found some boxes in a bunker at the former Olga S-3 training ground.

And the baron at that time opened the exhibition “Russian Art”.

“On this day I receive the president’s wife and, knowing that I am searching for the Amber Room, she says: “And my husband already knows where it is.” I read it in the newspapers this morning and immediately told the press that it was not good that the president said: “I know where the Amber Room is.” What the President said yesterday is wrong, no Amber Room was found. I thought that I would get hit by the president, I was really afraid... But - silence, because I was right...

President Yeltsin’s first visit to a united Germany was preceded by events that the journalist will tell us about Sergey Turchenko.

– This story began somewhere in November 1991. At this time I served in the newspaper "Red Star".

Turchenko wrote an article about the possible burial of the Amber Room in Kaliningrad.

“And suddenly, in the evening, the pale editor-in-chief says to me: “What did you write there?!” The first deputy chief of the GRU is calling you urgently.” Then, of course, I didn’t know that I had gotten myself into some political trouble. At this time, Yeltsin’s first visit abroad, to Germany, was being prepared. Yeltsin needed to somehow attract attention to himself. The GRU worked on the transfer of the Olga S-3 test site...

Let's listen to former military intelligence officer Vladimir Vaganov:
– The leadership of Nazi Germany prepared a reserve capital, which was called “Olga S-3”. The capital and forest areas were located on the territory of the test site near the city of Ohrdruf. Historically, this territory was first occupied by American troops...

Turchenko:
- Since there was a plan for the transfer of the capital, they began to export valuables, gold reserves, and the ashes of German kings there in advance, from the end of 1944. It is quite possible, of course, that the Amber Room could be located there...

Spiegel TV Chronicle:
– Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced in Bonn that a fresh trace had been discovered in the search for the Amber Room, leading to the adits of Thuringia.

Here, in 1945, the SS blew up the entrance to the adits before the allies appeared in the Olga mine, where the underground capital of Germany was being created. One of the 25 adits was to house the Amber Room.

And Turchenko in his article involuntarily spoke out against the GRU version of the Olga S-3 training ground:
– Huge office; I am greeted by a very welcoming, I would say, greeted by a colonel general, large, handsome... He introduces himself as Yuri Alexandrovich, first deputy head of the Main Intelligence Directorate. We start talking quite nicely with him. I tell him directly that it was a matter of chance, that we came out contrary to this version, there was absolutely no intent. He says: “Well, well, we will help you with material for other versions, including for Olga S-3, Vladimir Grigorievich will help you.”

And Vladimir Grigorievich is Major General Vaganov, already familiar to us.

Turchenko:
– Vladimir Grigorievich gave me a number of documents for review and even a videotape...

This tape contains footage from an American chronicle about what was found at the Olga S-3 facility. Suitcases with silverware, gold cigarette cases, paintings by the world's most famous masters: Raphael, Rembrandt, Van Eyck, the head of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti - all this in 3 thousand boxes. The Reich's gold reserves are 100 thousand tons, currency in US dollars is 238 million, 110 thousand British pounds, 89 thousand francs. When General Eisenhower saw all this, he said: “God!” And without wasting any time, the Americans took everything away, the coffins with the Kaisers were returned to the Germans, and the practically empty mine went to the Soviet troops. And for 45 years no one was interested in what was left in the bunker.

Turchenko:
– We met with Gusev periodically throughout the year. The last meeting, it will certainly be remembered for the rest of my life, because it had some mystical meaning... It was the end of November 1992...

And Turchenko asked the general where the Amber Room was:
“He says to me: “You know, Vasily Ivanovich, if I told you what I know and without even saying where, then in a week I wouldn’t be alive, and probably you too.” But I say: “Okay, don’t tell me where she is, we’ll live better...” A week later, Yuri Aleksandrovich Gusev dies in a car accident. There can be all sorts of versions, including those related to the secrets of the Amber Room and not only with it... He immediately gave me a whole list of people who died, getting a little closer to the secret of the Amber Room...

On this same tape there was an interview with the former director of the Weimar museum, Dr. Scheidig, who said that in April 1945, part of the so-called Erich Koch collection arrived in Weimar. Somewhere here, in the numerous underground tunnels of the museum, significant artistic treasures brought here not only by Koch were preserved. The current director of the museum did not want to talk to us, and we decided to ask the researcher. She did not introduce herself and resolutely opposed the filming, citing the fact that it was all fiction, there was nothing here, and television was sick of it... A small scuffle that ended in favor of the research assistant, the camera had to be turned off...

But we already know that this is not fiction from an interview with the former director of the museum, Dr. Scheidig.

Gauleiter Koch actually commissioned Dr. von Andre, a professor at the University of Königsberg, to prepare and send the most important valuables.

Let's return to the photo we are already familiar with. Next to Hitler is Gauleiter Koch, and on the other side is Professor Karl von Andre, director of the Amber Collection of the University of Königsberg. Doctor Professor Andre, upon closer examination, turned out to be SS Standartenführer von Andre.

This circular says that the Amber Room is packaged separately; the boxes for it were made at the sawmill of Dr. Engineer Lange. This is also confirmed by the letter about the supply of containers for valuables. The note states: “Amber and amber products are packed in separate boxes specially manufactured at the Boer plant (Pomerania) under the direction of Dr. Lange.” Who do you think signed the circular? - Hermann Goering.

The incredible valuables looted by Goering were discovered in the Reichsmarschall's castle in Bavaria, and he himself guarded them to the last and was arrested by the Americans. Goering hoped that negotiations would be held with him as the new ruler of Germany, but it all ended with the verdict of the Nuremberg court. And Goering’s collection was sent to a collection point for requisitioned art treasures.

Treasures of the Wittekind Mine

In 1945, Professor von Andre was spotted very close to Göttingen in the area of the Wittekind salt mine near Volprihausen.

The director (Hein Bolz) of the Wittekind Mine Museum said:
– Until 1938, this mine was used for salt extraction, and after that - as a warehouse for the ammunition that was produced here. There was a concentration camp 20 km from here, and the prisoners were forced to hide all this in a mine. In December 1944, four well-guarded carriages from Königsberg arrived here. 10 large and 2 smaller boxes were stored at a depth of 765 meters.

The history of the Wittekind mine was studied in detail by Yulian Semyonov. Wittekind was one of Georg Stein's major versions. In 1945, in July, the British came here. They carried out partial removal of the boxes from the mine.

Firstly, it became known that the children of the miners were playing with the amber plates. And secondly, many former prisoners of the Moringen concentration camp continued to live in the adits: it was warm and dry there.

When the British went down into the mine and saw many people there, ragged, emaciated and frightened, they hastily fled from the mine, did not inspect anything else, and after their departure there was an explosion. Then the explosions followed one after another for several days. With the last explosion, the Wittekind mine was flooded with water, and none of the prisoners came to the surface.

In the first weeks after arriving at Wittekind, the British lifted two small boxes of amber. These mysterious boxes were then transported to Göttingen, where they were hidden for the time being by our acquaintance, Professor von Andre. Another 10 large boxes remained in the mine.

And in conclusion, we offer you an interesting document that Georg Stein discovered in one of the archives: “On January 16, 1945, Obersturmbannführer Otto Ringel sent a message from Königsberg to Berlin: “The promotion is over, the object is placed in B. Schacht”».

The mine in the village of Volprihausen bears the designation “B. Schacht. W.V." Let us recall what Baron Falz-Fein said:
– I’m ready to give half a million dollars if someone finds me this room...

Secrets of the castle in Paslenka

Since 1945, East Prussia ceased to exist, and its territory was transferred to the Kaliningrad region and Poland. It is not surprising that many versions of the burial of the Amber Room are associated with this zone.

Slawomir Sadowski, journalist:
– One of the most important hypotheses for the burial of the Amber Room is the version of the Paslensky Castle, because Erich Koch was associated with this castle. Koch was a frequent visitor to the castle and occupied apartments in the left wing at number 6. And the Amber Room could have appeared in Paslenka in August 1944.

The famous Polish search engine and writer Richard Woyzeck spent many days and nights in Paslenka:
– The Dutch built this first castle in the 14th century. They built almost a mile and a half of tunnels to get out of this castle. In 1835, a very famous doctor went to these basements; a rider on a horse could pass through this tunnel. There is a legend that it is Eric Koch’s collection of weapons, and perhaps the Amber Room, which is just a stone’s throw away - 60 km from Königsberg - that it is hidden there...

Our geophysics showed from these tremors that there were deep structures. And we went meter by meter to a depth of 9 meters - these are unprecedented events in the search, we went there at the risk of our lives. In the very corner of this hole down there, the water goes somewhere. How can she leave there? Should there be some kind of emptiness there? And at that moment, rumors spread, and the state security authorities became interested in all this, and that we were agents of the Mossad, the KGB, we need to watch our hands, and best of all, stop all this, and they interrupted our work...

Treasures of Kaliningrad

This is the square where the Royal Castle once stood.

Avenir Ovsyanov, historian, writer:
– There are a great many versions. And there are especially many versions on the territory of this castle. The castle itself was destroyed from 1945 to 1968. German citizen Hanse Sonnenstein stated back in the 70s that they placed 12 boxes in a mine near the Kepa store, and they transported 6 boxes to the area of inter-fort structures on an armored personnel carrier at night in the late autumn of 1944. And 4 boxes were carried through the destroyed wall of the Blutgericht restaurant and hidden in a niche, after which the niche was filled with the same brick.

In the fall of 1999, people appeared in the markets of Kaliningrad offering objects made of bronze and iron to those who wanted them. The products turned out to be valuable exhibits of the former Royal Prussian Museum. The black diggers were detained by vigilant police, and the tracks led to Fort No. 3 “King Frederick III,” which the Russian military unit had left the day before. The archaeologists who came next discovered a rich collection of exhibits from the former Royal Museum of Königsberg. Of course, this was a joyful event for Avenir Petrovich - not the Amber Room, but still a rather valuable find.

70 km from Kaliningrad. The village of Yantarny, former Palmniken, where the current amber mining quarry is located. Here, on the seashore, the Anna mine is located; opening it is dangerous, because above the mine there is a flooded Walter quarry, and a disaster could occur.

Avenir Ovsyanov, historian, writer:
– There is generally a desperate project - to artificially freeze the soil and only then invade the drifts and adits of the Anna mine. The author of this version is German citizen Robert Stein, the son of the famous seeker Georg Stein. He comes to this place every year, brings diagrams, maps, drawings, photographs and looks for sponsors abroad.

Promotion "Mosaic"

The headquarters of the Spiegel concern is located in Hamburg, which has been conducting its investigation into the Amber Room case for many years. Many expeditions have been carried out, unique materials have been published, and considerable money has been spent.

The mystery of the Amber Room attracts the head of Der Spiegel magazine Stefan Aust:
“I promised informants a reward for their help in finding the mosaic from the Amber Room. Then we managed to contact the notary who was entrusted with the sale and come to an agreement with him. We took with us a pseudo-buyer, a policeman. The operation was attended by police director Peter Schultheis as a buyer, Burkhardt Goeres, director of the Prussian Palaces and Parks Foundation, and his assistant as an expert. The operation was monitored by cameramen and photographers from Der Spiegel magazine. The group approached the unsuspecting intermediary; notary Kaiser was waiting for them three floors above. He offers a mosaic measuring 55 x 70 cm for $2.5 million. Bargaining and examination continues for 20 minutes. Then Schultheis takes out his badge and shows it to the taken aback lawyer. The policeman explains to the lawyer that the works of art are subject to confiscation.

Lawyer Kaiser takes another look at the wrapped painting of his client, a certain Mr. X, whose father, as a Wehrmacht officer, accompanied the transport convoy with the Amber Room from Leningrad to Königsberg. On the way, he managed to steal the mosaic. Such is the legend...

In Tsarskoe Selo, the same mosaic “Touch and Smell”, lost during the war, appeared at the same time.

Ivan Sautov, director of the Tsarskoye Selo Museum:
“We were the first to start this work, the Florentine one, which was carried out by our masters of stone-cutting art, assuming that it was precisely this work that we had lost, since there was no Florentine mosaic in the black and white photographs in the Royal Castle in Königsberg - there was just an empty niche. But after an authentic Florentine mosaic from the Amber Room “Smell” was found, I compared it in terms of the technique of laying out the stones, the processing of the stones, and the color scheme - 100 percent hit! What a skill!

Burchardt Goeres, Director of the Office of Palaces and Parks in Berlin:
– I have known this workshop since 1980. The guys always greet me very well. I asked the General Directorate of Tsarskoe Selo, and they sent me pre-war photographs. Centimeter by centimeter we checked all the lines, inclusions, all the unevenness of the drawing. Of course, we had to look at this notary... We contacted the prosecutor general in Berlin, who spoke with the criminal commissioner, and then they called me and asked: “Are you sure that this is the original?” I said, “As sure as possible, I’m sure.” And then the notary was also invited to the phone. He was presented with a fait accompli, and at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon we were already back in Potsdam with the mosaic.

We remember that the Amber Room was taken from Tsarskoe Selo in the fall of 1941 and arrived through Riga to Königsberg, where it was exhibited in the Royal Castle. However, one of the four mosaics was missing, as Dr. Rode wrote about in his article in the Pantheon magazine.

But this mosaic is present in the pre-war photograph! It turned out that before Count Colonel Laubach packed the Amber Room, Father Achtermann (Wilhelm Achtermann) visited it, who grabbed a mosaic he liked as a souvenir and took it away on an ambulance train. Then the mosaic was inherited by his son.

Spiegel TV Chronicle:
– At the invitation of Der Spiegel, Boris Igdalov from the Catherine Museum in Pushkin appears, under whose leadership the restoration of the Amber Room is currently underway.

At first, Igdalov suspected that this mosaic was one of the copies made in Tsarskoe Selo.

Spiegel TV Chronicle:

Question from the German side:
– Is the painting you are working on now in the Amber Room?

Boris Igdalov:
- Certainly!

Igdalov successfully passed this test.

Spiegel TV Chronicle:
Boris Igdalov:
– For me it’s just a gift of fate.

German side:
– Are you convinced that this is the original?

Boris Igdalov:
– I would like to see photographs, but I can say in a private conversation that over the years our eyes have not adjusted... But it’s very similar!

Head of Der Spiegel magazine Stefan Aust:
– We paid for organizing everything and for the examination. And then the owner of the mosaic, the son who wanted to sell it, was arrested. I think it's unfair and takes too long. Soon after his arrest and release, he dies, and then his daughter receives the rights to the mosaic, because... she, according to German law, must inherit it. And then one Bremen businessman gave 200 thousand marks of compensation for Achtermann’s daughter. He and the federal state of Bremen would like, in exchange for the mosaic, to receive paintings that belonged to the Bremen Art Collection and are now stored in Moscow.

– Lawyer Kaiser, as an accomplice, received two years of suspended imprisonment and a fine of 90 thousand marks.

And in Leipzig they remembered the chest of drawers that was restored here 20 years ago.

Cabinetmaker Johann Enste was able to identify the chest of drawers from a photograph. The Russian inventory number on the back of the chest of drawers interested him even then.

“And then we called Mr. Sautov at the Palace and told him to look in the register at his Palace to see what was hidden under the inventory number.

A little later, a fax was received from the Catherine Museum: “We are happy to inform you that the number on the chest of drawers matches the inventory number in the museum’s lists.”

Everyone who has at least some connection to the Amber Room gathered in Tsarskoe Selo.

“It’s very nice to carry such a picture that returns to its homeland.” This is wonderful!

Minister of Culture Mikhail Shvydkoy is excited:
– When it was bought, it was in fairly decent condition. But it has been somewhat restored, so I think that it is now in quite museum condition.

Director Ivan Sautov is happy:
– For the first time, things have returned to Russia that we have not seen for 50 years after the war. They returned to the museum where they were, returned to their home, to their womb, to their aura, where they lived for almost 200 years.

And here is the culmination. The presidential helicopter lands right next to the Palace, and the President himself appears in the hall:
“We consider the return of a fragment of the Amber Room to be a return to the homeland of a national shrine. Thank you!

The efforts of Der Spiegel were not in vain - thanks to the President of Russia.

And now you can return the drawings from Bremen.

Spiegel TV Chronicle:
– This precious collection includes such names as Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Francisco Goya. Albrecht Durer's watercolor alone is valued at 8 million marks.

Happy end. The long-awaited happy ending.

Let's turn to astrologers

Marek Nowicki, director:
– The Amber Room is a mystery. There are a lot of paths that people take to solve it. And the solution can be very simple. Our need for myth is so great that we look for different ways for our imagination. The worst thing would be if the Amber Room was found. I decided to turn to people from a different field - astrologers, numerologists, geophysicists. And then an amazing event happened: all these people began to indicate more than the same place on the map - in Venezuela.

Moreover, I heard from an experienced astrologer how she ended up in Venezuela. The Amber Room was an important symbol of the greatness of Prussia, and those remaining SS men who ended up in Latin America were able to buy the Amber Room from Russia as recently as 1993.

Swiatoslaw Nowicki, astrologer:
– The history of the loss of the Amber Room, calculated from the location of the planets Pluto and Neptune. The fact of the disappearance of the Amber Room in September 1944 is confirmed. And now it is obvious - the Amber Room has been sold to the SS.

The location of the Amber Room is in Venezuela, near the Orinoco River, near the city of Soledad.

Telepaths and astrologers are confident that the Amber Room will return to Russia in 2006. It remains to wait a little.

In the meantime, Mr. Novitsky invites us to see what the Amber Room looks like, recreated using a computer.

None of the versions of the location of the Amber Room have yet been confirmed. And we decided to offer our version.

Our version

Koenigsberg. On January 12, 1945, Dr. Rohde packed the Amber Room into zinc-sealed boxes, as documented in the Königsberg Cultural Office. At the same time, according to Stein, a collection of jewelry with ancient Russian icons is removed from the Koch estate and sent to the coast, where, united with the Amber Room, it is loaded onto the light cruiser Emden.

The cruiser is sent to the west, and, as we already know, Professor von Andre was assigned to accompany the valuables. Who else could they trust?

Let's remember the photograph. The dimensions of the boxes for the Amber Room are indicated separately.

We remember that Dr. Rohde corresponded with the Fuhrer. He promised to send the Amber Room and, of course, he could not disobey.

From the documents of the Stasi, the former intelligence service of the GDR, it follows that the Amber Room was taken out of Königsberg along with the sarcophagi of Field Marshal Hindenburg and his wife. Hitler revered Field Marshal as the person who handed him power.

But the sarcophagi could not be removed from Königsberg, because they rested in the Tannenberg memorial complex in memory of the German victory over the Russians in the First World War.

We found a photo from '34. The burial ceremony for Hindenburg's ashes at the Tannenberg Memorial. Hitler is on the podium. To raise the spirit of the battered militia, Gauleiter Koch hosts a parade on the eve of the last battle for Königsberg.

It was from here that the sacred Tannenberg banners, a symbol of the invincible German spirit, were taken away along with the sarcophagi in 1944. The banners did not help, and the Germans blew up the memorial itself.

Now let’s remember a document from Stein’s archive, sent from Königsberg by Obersturmbannführer Otto Ringel 4 days after Dr. Rohde packed the boxes with the Amber Room: “The Amber Room. The promotion is over. Object placed by B. Schacht. W.V." And we decided that this meant the Wittekind mine.

But Ringel sent this telegram to Königsberg, where there is an object with the same abbreviations: “B. Sch. W.V." According to experts, it means “Schichau shipyard” (B. Schichau. W.V.), from which the Amber Room left on the cruiser Emden and safely arrived in Kiel, from where it was transported to Potsdam near Berlin. The Hindenburg sarcophagi and sacred banners were delivered there earlier from Tannenberg.

The Stasi Special Commission established: in February 1945, four different transports were combined into one train, which contained the sarcophagi of the Hindenburgs, Prussian kings: Frederick I, his son Wilhelm and Frederick the Great. By the way, all three were involved in the fate of the Amber Room. There were also paintings from Sans Souci, royal relics and – the Amber Room!

The train arrived at Bernterode station on the night of February 8–9, 1945. Valuables of imperial significance, including sarcophagi, were sent to the Ohrdruf area - Hitler's secret capital "Olga S-3".

Koch's valuables were delivered to Weimar, as we already know from a memo from the director of the Weimar Museum, Dr. Scheidig.

The Americans, who captured the underground capital of the Reich "Olga S-3", discovered valuables there and took them out. After a while, the sarcophagi of the Hindenburgs and Prussian kings were returned to the Germans, but by order of Hitler, the sarcophagi were sent along with the Amber Room! There are sarcophagi, but where is the Amber Room?

This means that it could have been among the valuables exported by the Americans from April 14 to 18, 1945 on 29 trucks in Frankfurt am Main, but along the way 3 trucks disappeared without a trace. It is likely that the Amber Room was on these trucks.

Another possible option. The Amber Room went with Koch's valuables to Weimar. From Dr. Scheidig's report it follows that these valuables were taken out of Weimar on April 9 and 10, 1945 on Swiss Red Cross trucks.

Where did these trucks go? Maybe to Czechoslovakia or Austria? Hardly. There were already Soviet troops there. It is most likely that Koch's valuables traveled south to Switzerland...

On one of the boxes that Field Marshal Goering sent from Carinhall to himself, the Swiss city of Basel is listed.

Many Nazis flocked to quiet Switzerland at the end of the war. American intelligence services discovered Gestapo chief Heinrich Müller here. Before this, in his homeland, he prudently built himself a false grave. The Americans did not put him in the dock, but bought a giant official archive from Mueller for $1 million and transported it to the States, where for many years Mueller advised the intelligence services on Russia. Of course, not for free. And he even hosted US President Truman in his home. The dinner table during visits was set with plates with the coats of arms of Catherine II, as his friend Gregory Douglas, from Tsarskoe Selo, said. At the same time, Müller grabbed a transport with priceless artistic treasures and all the orders that Hitler awarded him. And he brought all this into the USA without any control.

Let's watch a fragment from the most interesting NTV program “Top Secret”.

Gregory Douglas:
– He also kept some things from Tsarskoe Selo, he also had parts of the Amber Room, which was presented by King Frederick William to Tsar Peter I. Now they are trying to collect parts of this room. Muller had them, but then he sold these exhibits.

Doesn't this confirm that both routes to Olga S-3 and Weimar brought the Amber Room to the States? After all, Georg Stein wrote to his priest a week before his death: “It makes no sense to look further in Europe. All this has been in America for a long time.”

Maybe the Americans will return the Amber Room to us, right?

So, the Amber Room was taken from Ohrdruf or Weimar, and we decided to find out what former professional intelligence officer Major General Vladimir Vaganov thought about our version. After listening to our version, General Vaganov took out a diagram of the movement of the Amber Room, compiled at one time by the service of the Main Intelligence Directorate. The most amazing thing is that it almost completely coincided with our version: Königsberg - Kiel - Potsdam - Ohrdruf - Weimar.

Vladimir Vaganov:
– These data correspond to the version presented by the authors of the film. I think that it is very probable and can be considered by researchers specifically for analysis and further actions to search for the Amber Room.

The "Eighth Wonder of the World" is being reborn

The small town of Essen. The headquarters of the gas giant Ruhrgas is located here, which has been cooperating with our Gazprom for 30 years, purchasing Russian gas.

Mr. Middelschulte is happy that one day he came up with the idea of investing $3.5 million in recreating the Amber Room.

– I believe that the Amber Room no longer exists. This is a matter of my faith. She burned down in Königsberg. And restoration is the only alternative to preserve the Amber Room.

But in order to understand what kind of work had to be done, let’s try to imagine what needs to be done to recreate the Amber Room.

The restorers of Tsarskoe Selo had only one color photograph, which we are already familiar with. However, the entire Amber Room could only be seen in a pre-war photograph. It was necessary not only to imagine it in all its variety of colors, but also to calculate the configuration of the numerous elements that make up the amber plates. There are hundreds of thousands of them. Each fragment has its own design and is often equipped with a complex pattern. The work is extremely difficult, requiring imagination, insight, high taste and just patience.

Restorers have been working for 20 years, persistently moving towards the dream shining at the end of the tunnel. Look how much work and skill is needed to get only a partial result.

So, first you need amber. 6 tons. 2/3 of it will go to waste. Amber is obtained from Kaliningrad. Amber is mostly small; large specimens are very rare and are used to make sculptural fragments. Raw amber is the color of sauerkraut, and the decoration of the Amber Room uses dozens of colors and shades that can only be obtained in special modes, for example, boiling in oil. All amber processing technologies were found through patient searching over decades.

The cat Nastya was an impassive observer of the process. Restorers could, if desired, obtain copyright certificates.

So, the amber should be sorted by color, size, tried on a particular fragment, adjusted, applied a pattern according to the design, placed with golden foil, glued with a special mastic and, of course, guided by the imagination of Count Bartolomeo Rastrelli in order to get closer to the original source. And finally, before you insert a mirror, you need to immortalize your name.

Each panel could well deservedly bear the signature of Ivan Petrovich Sautov, the director of the museum. It was he who persuaded the Ruhrgas management to invest money in completing the work; it was he who received distinguished guests who certainly wanted to see the “eighth wonder of the world.” And the Catherine Palace and the Amber Room itself became the venue for meetings at the highest level.

Achim Middelschulte, Member of the Management Board of Ruhrgas AG:
– What Russian masters do is wonderful, and it is a great happiness for humanity to have the opportunity to look at the Amber Room...

What about the lost Amber Room?..

Three German researchers, relying on radar data, said that they had discovered a complex of bunkers in the vicinity of Dresden. One of them may contain the Amber Room, which mysteriously disappeared during the Second World War, they believe. The Daily Mail reported this on October 16.

According to one of the researchers, Gunther Eckard, a “reliable source” told him about the location of the Amber Room back in 2001. But only now, thanks to modern technology, has it become possible to establish the exact location of underground tunnels in the vicinity of Dresden. It turned out that they were located under the railroad tracks in the area where a train carrying works of art from Königsberg allegedly stopped in April 1945.

However, the assumption of German seekers contradicts the views of modern scientists who believe that the Amber Room was destroyed during the Great Patriotic War.

Let us remember that in the 18th century, amber cladding for the palace hall was made in Prussia. King Frederick William I donated the room to Russian Tsar Peter I. Later, by order of Queen Elizabeth, its decoration was improved and received many new elements. In this form, the Amber Room became a decoration of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo.

Eastern corner of the Amber Room in the Catherine Palace
RIA News
Dmitry Korobeinikov

During the Great Patriotic War, the Catherine Palace ended up in the hands of the Germans. In 1944, after the city of Pushkin (as Tsarskoe Selo is now called) was liberated, it turned out that the palace was looted and the Amber Room was taken to Germany. The Germans displayed the trophy in the Amber Museum in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad).

On fire in Königsberg

According to the laws of the Third Reich, all works of art produced in Germany must be returned to the place where they were created. This law explains why the Amber Room ended up in Königsberg. But, probably, the Prussian capital was not the final destination of transportation.

Thus, St. Petersburg researcher Alexander Mosyakin in the book “The Pearl Necklace of St. Petersburg” cites (with reference to archival documents) data that it was brought to Königsberg only for a while, at the request of the Gauleiter of East Prussia, Erich Koch. And the Amber Room was intended for a museum of art in the city of Hitler’s youth—Linz, Austria.

All this gives reason to assume that until the last moment the Amber Room was in the field of attention of “art historians in the Feldgrau” (the so-called gray uniform of the Wehrmacht. - RT), who well understood its value.

On April 8, 1945, Soviet units reached the Royal Castle of Königsberg, the garrison of which capitulated. In the castle, according to eyewitnesses, boxes with elements of the Amber Room were waiting for evacuation. But on April 11, a huge fire engulfed the building. After this, the trace of the masterpiece of interior art is lost.

Create, not search

Created in 1949, the state commission to search for the missing masterpiece worked for several decades. She attracted German witnesses, and questions about the fate of the room were asked of high-ranking figures of the Nazi regime, such as Erich Koch. But there were no results. The USSR officially stopped searching for the Amber Room back in 1979, although during the years of perestroika there was a new surge of interest in this topic.

Yet Soviet specialists focused on recreating the legendary room, rather than searching for it. This work took more than 30 years and was completed by the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg - in 2003.

Amber room of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo
RIA News
Sergey Velichkin

Over the years, new evidence has repeatedly appeared from “eyewitnesses” who claimed that they knew the location of the room or its individual parts. They continue to appear to this day. So, in 2016, another unconfirmed “discovery” was made in Poland.

Only once, in 1997, in Germany was it possible to discover one of the Florentine mosaics that were part of the decoration of the room. It was kept in the family of the German officer who took it away. In 2000, German authorities returned it to Russia.

Vague prospects

Today, most experts believe that the room, with the exception of individual elements, was destroyed during the storming of Königsberg or during the fire that broke out in the Royal Castle on April 11, 1945.

The likelihood that the Amber Room could survive was assessed by the writer and historian of the Third Reich Konstantin Zalessky in a conversation with RT as close to zero - especially in Saxony, the historical region of which Dresden is the capital. Saxony was in the Soviet zone of occupation. Here, local residents were quite loyal to the Soviet authorities and such caches were usually handed over.

In addition, according to the expert, there is no logic in placing the stolen valuables in Saxony, which was too far from Königsberg.

Finally, the prospect of preserving amber in mines also raises questions. According to Zalessky, the Germans hid valuables so that they could later be quickly returned and used. Amber is a fragile and deformable material; it is in no way designed to survive such a long stay in conditions unsuitable for this.