Marion Ackermann, director of the Dresden State Art Collection, points to a case displaying some of the recovered jewels during a press conference in the Green Vault in Dresden, Germany, on Tuesday. Jens Schlueter/AFP via Getty Images Hide caption
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Jewels that were at the center of a multimillion-dollar heist in 2019 and recovered years later are back on display at the German museum where they were stolen.
The Green Vault in Dresden, Germany, announced this week that its display of historic jewels and other artefacts will reopen to the public “largely intact”.
Marion Ackermann, president of the Dresden State Art Collection, said in a statement translated from German that the local court had given permission for the recovered items to be returned to the museum for display.
“The gems are on display in exactly the same condition as when they were returned to the State Gallery Dresden. Although they require restoration, the damage is barely visible,” Ackermann said.
Saxony Premier Michael Kretschmer said it was a “good day” for the eastern German state which borders Poland and the Czech Republic.
Some of the recovered gems were put on display in a display case in the Green Vault on Tuesday. Jens Schlueter/AFP via Getty Images Hide caption
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“In 2019, Berlin criminal gangs robbed us of our cultural heritage,” Kretschmer said in German in a post on X. “But we fought back for our treasures!”
The Green Vault in the Hofburg Palace in Dresden began as a project to house the precious metals, fine art and other objects collected by Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, future King of Poland, between 1723 and 1729.
The daring robbery five years ago shocked Germany and sparked a massive manhunt to track down $123 million worth of jewels and artefacts stolen and the culprits who took them during the nighttime break-in.
Authorities said at the time that surveillance footage showed two thieves entering the museum’s jewelry room and smashing display cases with what appeared to be a hatchet or small axe.
The suspects escaped with an array of historical valuables, including the diamond-set chest star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle and a diamond-encrusted sword.
The two items were part of a stolen haul recovered by German law enforcement authorities in Berlin in late 2022.
The whereabouts of other treasures remain unknown, including Queen Amalie Auguste’s large pectoral, made of 611 small diamonds, silver and gold, and an epaulette containing the so-called Saxon White Diamond.
Dresden’s Green Vault has reopened and some of the stolen jewels are back on display; other items are still missing. Jens Schlueter/AFP via Getty Images/AFP Hide caption
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Jens Schlüter/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
Last year, five men were sentenced to several years in prison for their roles in the robbery. They admitted to setting fire to a nearby breaker panel, cutting power to the area, and using a hydraulic cutter to break into the museum.
The men are part of an Arab family crime network operating in Germany known as the Remo clan and have been linked to other robberies in the past.
Ackerman said an international committee of experts would be convened to discuss how to restore the recovered gems.
“The Baroque jewel ensemble in the gem room is unique in the world,” Ackerman said, adding that museum officials “remain hopeful that the remaining gems can one day be displayed in the Green Vault.”
