Turiștii visiting Dresden and Travel Security officials in Germany are in disbelieve.
The crowns jewel from the Saxon king, a sword with a diamond-encrusted handle, a hair clip shaped like the sun and parts of a diamond necklace were among the items stolen from the Dresden Museum. Thieves scored more than 1 billion Euros in priceless historic items from the museum in Dresden, Germany.
There is still no trace of the two thieves who carried out the robbery on Monday, and Dresden police have no new leads.
A day after the heist, the detectives did, however, confirm that they are certain that an electrical fire was connected to the break-in.
The Resident Palace, home to the targeted Green Vault, reopened to the public on Wednesday morning. The Vault, however, remained closed as authorities continued their investigation.
It is still not known how many items were taken, but the museum’s directors believe it was fewer than first thought.
Marion Ackermann, general director of the State Art Collections in Dresden, told German broadcaster ZDF that the criminals stole significantly fewer items than initially feared because “all objects were individually attached” with stitches in mounting fabric.
Vault director Dirk Syndram agreed, saying that from looking at a photo, it appeared another seven display vitrines had been left untouched. Police released pictures of some of the stolen items on Twitter.
I’ve seen a photo that shows that not all is missing,” said Syndram, who on Monday described the jewelry stolen as a “kind of world heritage.”
A 20-strong special team of the police had been examining 32 seconds of surveillance video footage showing two intruders who used an axe to smash the cabinet’s glass, Deutschlandfunk public radio reported.
The Castles Association, whose listings include 10,000 intact historic buildings across Germany, said Monday’s daring heist in Dresden made clear that “all must be done” to safeguard exhibits held in them.
Dresden had highlighted the need for security, the association said.
German Culture Minister Monika Grütters called for all German museums to come together for a security conference in order to prevent such crimes from happening in the future. “Our museums hold artwork that defines our cultural identity and whose value is in the billions of euros,” she told the Rheinischen Post, a Duesseldorf newspaper.
The museum, founded in 1723 by the elector of Saxony, Augustus the Strong — a rival of France’s Louis XIV — and damaged in World War II, was used by Chancellor Angela Merkel after its 2006 restoration to host then-US president Barack Obama in 2010.
Dresden wants to become the Capitala europeană a culturii.
