What happened to the Amber Room?
Verdict summary
The Amber Room, a chamber of amber panels from Catherine Palace near St Petersburg, was looted by German forces in 1941 and taken to Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). It disappeared in 1945, near the end of the Second World War, and its fate is unknown. A reconstruction opened in 2003.
Theories range from destruction in the bombing and fire of Königsberg to hiding in mines or a shipwreck. None has been proven.
Sources: Catherine Palace (Tsarskoye Selo) museum records.
What famous treasures are still unfound? Famous treasures still unfound include the Amber Room (lost in 1945), the Lost Dutchman Mine in Arizona, the Beale treasure in Virginia, the Oak Island money pit in Nova Scotia, the Treasure of Lima, Paititi (the lost Inca city of gold) and the Kruger millions in South Africa. Many rest on a single late retelling, so some may never have existed.
Primary sources cited
- Catherine Palace (Tsarskoye Selo) museum records