Marion Ackermann, director general of the Dresden State Art Collection, points to a display case of some recovered jewelry during a press event at the Green Vault in Dresden, Germany, on Tuesday.
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Jewels that were part of a multimillion-dollar theft in 2019 — and recovered several years later — are now back on display at the German museum where they were stolen.
The Grüne Gewölbe, or Green Vault, in Dresden, Germany, announced this week that its exhibition of historic gems and other relics will reopen to the public “in all its glory.”
Marion Ackermann, director general of the Dresden State Art Collections, said in a statement Translated from German, the regional court system has allowed the recovered artifacts to be sent back to the museum for display.
“The jewelry is presented exactly as it was when returned to [Dresden State Art Collections] — with barely visible damage, although restoration is required,” Ackermann said.
Saxony state premier Michael Kretschmer called it a “good day” for the German state in the east of the country, which borders Poland and the Czech Republic.
Some of the recovered jewelry is displayed in a display case at the Green Vault on Tuesday.
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“In 2019, criminal gangs from Berlin appropriated our cultural heritage,” Kretschmer said in German. in a post on X. “But we fought for our treasure!”
Located in the Dresden Royal Palace, the Green Vault began as a project house Precious metals, decorative arts and other objects were accumulated by August the Strong, Saxon elector who later became king of Poland, between 1723 and 1729.
The daring theft five years ago shocked Germany and sparked a massive manhunt for $123 million worth of stolen jewelry and artifacts. — as well as those responsible for robbing them during nighttime break-ins.
Government said at that time Surveillance video shows two thieves breaking into the museum’s Jewelry Gallery and smashing display cases with what appears to be an axe or hatchet.
The suspects took a series of valuable historical items, including the diamond-decorated breast star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle and a diamond-covered sword.
Those two items were among the stolen items. has recovered in Berlin by German law enforcement agencies by the end of 2022.
The whereabouts of other treasures are still unknown, such as Queen Amalie Auguste’s large breastplate, made from 611 small diamonds, silver and gold, and an epaulette with a Saxon white diamond.
The Green Vault in Dresden is reopening with some of the stolen jewels back on display. Some other items are still missing.
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Last year, five men has been convicted They were sentenced to several years in prison for their part in the robbery. They admitted to burning a nearby circuit breaker panel to cut off power to the area and using a hydraulic cutter to break into the museum.
The men are members of the so-called Remmo Clan, a family-based crime network of Arab origin operating in Germany and linked to several other robberies in the past.
Ackermann said an international committee of experts will meet to discuss how to recover the recovered jewels.
“The baroque jewelry in the jewelry room is unique in the world,” Ackermann said. She added that museum officials “have not given up hope of being able to display the remaining jewelry here at the Green Vault one day.”
