Thieves Stole Up to a Billion Dollars Worth of Jewels From Dresden’s Famed Treasure Museum, Escaping in a Limousine

Dresden’s famed Green Vault, one of Europe’s greatest
collections of treasure, has been robbed despite security measures
said to be like Fort Knox’s. The exquisite collection of jewels and
other historic items was raided early this morning, November 25. At
least two thieves targeted the most historical part of the historic
vaults in the center of the east German city. The value of the
missing pieces could be worth millions—or even a billion
dollars—according to some reports in German media.

The Grünes Gewölbe, or the Green Vault, was ransacked
around 5 a.m. According to the German newspaper Bild,
the power supply to the building caught fire nearby around the time
of the theft, that caused the street lights nearby to go out, as
well as a possible power outage at the vaults. (The connection
between the two incidents is still being investigated). Two thieves
then entered through a small window into the historic museum,
taking mostly jewelry and leaving behind heavier objects. The
suspects, which according to one report made off in a limousine
car, are still at large. First responders were on the scene within
five minutes of an emergency call made by the guards.

Though authorities are still evaluating the number and estimated
value of the pieces that have been
lost, Bild suggests it could total more than €1
billion ($1.1 billion). If that is the case, it would make it the
largest museum heist in history, surpassing the theft of Old
Masters from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. At a
press conference this afternoon, Marion Ackermann, general
director of Dresden’s state art collections, said it was likely
impossible to put a value on the stolen items due to their historic
cultural value. Among the stolen items is an 18th-century
diamond set once owned by Augustus the Strong, who founded the
museum in 1733.

Dresden investigators have reached out to the Berlin authorities
to look into a possible link between the two cities.

The Green Vault is now part of the Dresden State Art
Collections. It is boasts Europe’s largest collection of more than
4,000 mainly Baroque treasures, including pieces made of gold, rare
stones, and diamonds, as well as royal jewelry and other treasures.
The items are held in high-security rooms, with 3,000 of the pieces
held in the historic 17th-century vault that was targeted by the
thieves. The late Martin Roth, the former director of the
Dresden State Art Collections, said in 2010: “The Green Vault
is secured like Fort Knox.”

Saxon state premier Michael Kretschmer denounced the crime: “Not
only the state art collections were robbed, but we Saxons,” he
said. “The treasures that can be found in the Green Vault and in
the Residence Palace have been hard won by the people in the Free
State of Saxony over many centuries.” He added: “One cannot
understand the history of our country, our Free State, without the
Green Vault and the State Art Collections of Saxony.”

One star jewel the thieves missed is the 41-carat diamond known
as the Dresden Green. It one of 17 objects from the Green Vault
currently on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York.

The post Thieves Stole Up to a Billion Dollars Worth of
Jewels From Dresden’s Famed Treasure Museum, Escaping in a
Limousine appeared first on artnet News.