Dresden Green Vault jewel heist: Trial to begin next month
December 29, 2021
Six men are accused of stealing 18th-century jewels from the Green Vault museum in 2019. The stolen items were insured for well in excess of 100 million euros.
The heist has been described as the biggest in modern German historyImage: Hannibal Hanschke/REUTERS
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Six men will go on trial in eastern Germany next month over their alleged role in the spectacular theft of 18th-century jewels from a museum, with the court setting an opening trial date of January 28 on Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege that the men are responsible for the break-in at Dresden's Green Vault Museum on November 25, 2019. The suspects have been accused of stealing 21 pieces of jewelry encrusted with more than 4,300 diamonds. The jewelry had a total insured value of at least €113.8 million ($129 million) and the incident was labeled as the biggest heist in modern German history.
Security camera footage released by Dresden police after the 2019 heist shows two suspects entering the room, waving their flashlights as they step across the black-and-white-tiled floor. They then shatter a glass display case with an ax before taking three sets of jewelry. The theft was a swift operation. By the time police arrived on the scene, five minutes after the alarm had been triggered by security personnel, the thieves had fled.
The suspects, who are all German nationals aged between 22 and 28, have also been accused of creating a fire ahead of the theft in order to cut the power supply for street lights outside the museum. In addition, the six men also burnt out a nearby car, before fleeing roughly 200 kilometers (around 125 miles) north to Berlin.
The Dresden state court said that the process would get underway on January 28, with the currently scheduled trial dates set to continue through to the end of March.
The priceless treasures stolen from Germany's Green Vault
In 2019, thieves robbed the opulent museum in Dresden, making off with dazzling jewels. Some of them remain missing to this day.
A treasure chest robbed
The unique jewel sets were the special attraction of the Green Vault. Among the stolen pieces are the diamond jewelry of former Saxon queens, a military star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle, and a diamond-encrusted sword. They were kept in display cases that the thieves broke into in November 2019.
Star of the Order of the White Eagle
The ornate breast star was made in 1746-49 by goldsmith Jean Jacques Pallard using diamonds, rubies, gold and silver. Receiving the star was a rare honor: By the time Saxon Elector and King of Poland Augustus II the Strong died in 1733, he had appointed only 40 Knights to the Order of the White Eagle.
An aigrette is a type of hair ornament. This piece, a stolen item from the collection in Dresden, was designed in the shape of a sun. It was made at some point between 1782 and 1807 and belongs to the collection of brilliant jewelry owned by the former queens of Saxony. It consists of 127 diamonds and is constructed of silver.
This over-the-top sword hilt was designed by several jewelers in the 18th century. It consists of nine larger diamonds and 770 smaller ones, as well as a number of silver, gold, steel and velvet elements. What happened to it after the theft is anyone's guess.
Saxony's ruler Augustus II the Strong (1670-1733) wanted to create artistic gesamtkunstwerk, mixed artistic forms, in Dresden during his reign. Between 1723 and 1730, he had a Baroque building erected to express his vision of wealth and power. This palace, now the Green Vault museum, reflects this opulent vision and to this day remains full of significant works of art and valuable jewels.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kahnert
Time traveling in the White Silver Room
The White Silver Room is one of eight chambers that comprise the Green Vault. Visiting the collection is like traveling back in time to the Baroque era, as one browses the 3,000 objects in the collection. The Green Vault opened to the public as early as 1724. Visitors were only allowed to enter in small groups and, according to the king's wish, "with clean clothing."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kahnert
August the Strong: Patron of the arts and lover of excess
Augustus II the Strong had his Dresden residence expanded according to the French model. He held court in the style of Louis XIV, depleting Saxony's finances in the process. The coat of arms of the elector of Saxony can still be found in the ornate building.
