The Truth Behind The Mysterious Amber Room
The Amber Room, featuring six tons of amber, was originally a lavish gift to Peter the Great in the early 1700s but disappeared toward the end of World War II after it was looted by German soldiers. Before its disappearance, the glittering gold room was considered an “Eighth Wonder of the World,” and historians worldwide have been wondering what happened to it for several decades.
Read on to learn about the history of the Amber Room, strange facts about its disappearance, and a possible new discovery of the remains.
The Amber Room Was Designed By A Sculptor In 1701
Originally designed in 1701 by a German baroque sculptor named Andreas Schlüter, the Amber Room was considered an “Eighth Wonder of the World.” This was because it was one of the most extravagant architectural feats of its time.
According to Smithsonian magazine, the room was originally intended to be constructed at Germany’s Charlottenburg Palace with the help of amber masters Ernst Schact and Gottfried Turau. Using amber for interior decoration was something that had rarely been done before.
Almost Half A Ton Of Amber Panels Were Used In Its Creation
The History Channel states that the amber masters heated the fossilized tree resin, infused it with honey and linseed, and attached it to the wooden panels lining the room. Once the amber was on the panels, they would cover them in gold or silver leaf and add some precious jewels.
The Amber Room also featured gilding, carvings, grand mirrors, statues of angels and children, and candlelight at every corner. When the amber masters were finished, they had made almost half a ton of amber panels.
The Room Was A Gift For Peter The Great Of Russia
Originally, the Amber Room was supposed to belong to Frederick, the first King of Prussia, and his wife Sophia Charlotte at their palace in Berlin. Instead, it was given to Peter the Great of Russia in 1716.
Frederick’s son Frederick William I presented it to Peter the Great of Russia as a gift, which created an alliance between Russia and Prussia against Sweden. It was then installed inside the Winter House in St. Petersburg, but was later moved to the Catherine Palace by the order of Czarina Elizabeth, Empress of Russia.
The Amber Room Would Be Worth $500 Million Today
According to Smithsonian magazine, Italian designer Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli was hired to redesign the room in order to fit it into the larger space. When he was finished, it covered about 590-square feet and included over six tons of amber and rare gemstones.
During its heyday, the room was used as a private meditation chamber for Czarina Elizabeth, a gathering room for Catherine the Great, and a trophy room for Alexander II. Historians estimate that if the Amber Room was still intact today, it would be worth over $500 million.
The Amber Room Even Survived The Russian Revolution
The Russian royals couldn’t get enough of the Amber Room. It remained one of the most important places in the country throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, even surviving the Russian Revolution from 1917-1923.
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be staying there for long. The Germans came to invade the Soviet Union at the beginning of World War II as part of Operation Barbarossa. This would be the last time the public would ever get a chance to see the Amber Room in person.
German Soldiers Dismantled The Room
The officials at Catherine Palace knew that the German soldiers were on their way to riot and loot everything they could, so they covered the Amber Room in ordinary wallpaper. But since the amber was so old, it had started to crumble onto the floor and the attempt to hide it failed.
Smithsonian magazine reports that German soldiers dismantled the room because they believed it was made by and for Germans. It was disassembled after only 36 hours, packed into 27 crates, and shipped to Kaliningrad, Germany.
The Amber Room Was Moved To Another Castle
On October 14, 1941, the Amber Room was placed inside the Königsberg Castle, where it was supposed to be a museum exhibition. It stayed on display for the next couple of years, but officials were advised to take it down again as the war carried on.
The man in charge of dismantling the Amber Room abandoned his post and fled the city. By August 1944, the castle had been destroyed by heavy fire-bombs from the Royal Air Force. A year later, the Soviets’ artillery fire caused even more damage.
Assessing The Damage
According to the History Channel, the Soviets sent Professor Alexander Brusov to check the damage and recover stolen artifacts from the Amber Room in May of 1945. After looking into the cellar of the castle, he discovered the burnt remains of almost all of the Florentine mosaics that were inside.
The man who had fled instead of dissembling the room said Brusov was wrong. He refused to accept that he was responsible for allowing the room to be destroyed.
Was It Really Destroyed?
Although some say that the Amber Room was destroyed along with Königsberg Castle, there are others who believe that there are plenty of other plausible theories as to what happened.
After the war, the chamber wasn’t seen by the public ever again. Some eyewitnesses say they spotted the room being loaded onto a military transport ship called MV Wilhelm Gustloff, which was later torpedoed and sunk by a Soviet submarine. Others think the remains are still somewhere in Kaliningrad.
Some Artifacts Were Found
Historians haven’t stopped looking for the remains of the Amber Room. According to the History Channel, the only pieces of the room that have been found so far are a cabinet and a stone Florentine mosaic. A German soldier supposedly stole the mosaic and German authorities found it with his son in 1997.
In 1998, a group of Germans thought they discovered the Amber Room in a silver mine, while a Lithuanian team thought they found it buried in a lagoon. They were both wrong.
Journalists Go To Investigate
In 2004, investigative journalists Catherine Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy conducted a lengthy investigation on the whereabouts of the room, details of which they included in a book called The Amber Room.
They concluded that the ornate chamber was most likely destroyed when the castle was damaged in 1944 and 1945. After looking at official documents, it was clear to them that other theories were just a ruse to cover up the Soviet artillery fire where they destroyed their own property.
The Amber Room Curse
According to Smithsonian magazine, there’s a theory about a phenomenon called the “Amber Room Curse.” It includes people involved with the room who have met untimely demises.
Alfred Rohde, the museum director at Königsberg Castle, and his wife caught typhus while the room was under investigation. General Yuri Gusev, a Russian intelligence officer, got into a car crash shortly after talking to a journalist about the Amber Room. And Georg Stein, former German soldier and Amber Room hunter, lost his life in a Bavarian forest.
Reconstruction Of The Amber Room
Those who never got to see the real Amber Room in person may be in luck. The Soviet government embarked on a reconstruction of the room in 1979 at the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo.
It took 24 years to be completed with 40 Russian and German amber experts. They did their best to replicate the room by using old photos and descriptions. When it was finished, a total of 350 shades of amber were used on the original panels from the room.
A Possible New Discovery
While it’s believed by some that the Amber Room was completely destroyed by heavy fire-bombs and artillery fire, there were people who thought they saw the contents of the room being loaded onto a ship during World War II.
German shipwreck called the Karlsruhe was discovered at the bottom of the Baltic Sea through sonar used by a special undersea robot. The wreckage, including some crates nearby, was believed to hold the treasures of the Amber Room.
The Karlsruhe Was A World War II Relic
The Karlsruhe was the final vessel to leave the former German capital Königsberg, now known as Kaliningrad, in 1945.
The ship was used as part of an evacuation plan called Operation Hannibal. Germans used the Karlsruhe to escape when the war started to get extremely dangerous. Soviet forces were able to catch up to the ship and sunk it. Over 1,000 people were aboard the ship and 113 survived after it sunk.
What Was Found In The Shipwreck
The divers who were exploring the Baltic Sea believed the 10 chests picked up by the sonar contained valuable items stolen by German soldiers, including remnants of the Amber Room.
The chests were shaken loose from the ship they were loaded onto as it sank almost 300 feet below sea level. According to War History Online, one of the chests contained special rubber seals. These are typically used to keep items safe from underwater damage.
Researchers Can’t Get Close To The Artifacts
No one knows for sure what is inside the chests because there are a lot of restrictions on who gets to look through them. Tomasz Stachura, the chief diver of the team that uncovered the chests, says that he can only go as far as 130 below sea level.
Some believe the chests may hold priceless paintings, precious jewels, and many other decorations from the Amber Room. The artifacts could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Waiting A Little Longer
Officials working on uncovering the unique artifacts from the shipwreck say that it won’t be examined immediately. Aside from the crates, Stachura says the Karlsruhe contains military vehicles and some porcelain.
According to Baltitech, “The vessel took 360 tons of returnable goods in uneven crates.” Experts believe that most of the artifacts are in good condition and they expect archaeologists to complete a lengthy examination when the time is right.
Retrieval Will Take A Lot Of Manpower
There are so many valuable items that need to be retrieved from the bottom of the Baltic Sea that one research team couldn’t possibly do it all. According to Stachura, his crew may need help from the military to excavate the site.
He goes on to explain that there will be plenty more physical and logistical challenges for the daunting recovery mission. “Resources are limited and the scale of the task is vast,” said Stachura.
No End In Sight Just Yet
All of these challenges make the resolution of the missing Amber Room all the more complicated. The story of the Amber Room has a beginning and a middle, but there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight if Stachura’s team doesn’t get to investigate soon.
“This story must be completed,” said Stachura. Another diver on Stachura’s team stated that the artifacts from the shipwreck “may provide groundbreaking information on the disappearance of the legendary Amber Chamber [Room].”
