There are many mysterious places in our world. From North Korea’s Bureau 39, to Antarctica’s Blood Falls, to your parents bedroom. But more interesting than all of these is the enduring mystery of the Amber Room. Once called the eighth wonder of the world, it’s story involves many of the great empires from history. A ridiculous story of ridiculous people and journeys, climaxing with the total disappearance of the entire room. Vanishing without a trace.
A Bloody Beginning
Like all great stories, this one begins with a war. It was the late 17th century, and Sweden was the most feared country in Europe. I know that might be hard to believe. But in those days they were less into building furniture, and more into religious extremism. Generations of expansion had made Sweden a great empire. The greatest in Northern Europe. Russia, on the other hand, was feared by no one. Far from the giant it would eventually become, Russia was backwards. Isolated from the rest of Europe and had no access to the Baltic Sea. However, they were the closest thing to a rival Sweden had in the region. So when Prussia was trying to put together an anti Swedish war coalition, they were desperate to keep the Russians on board. To do so, King Frederick had to give up his most prized possession.
Years before, Peter the Great was on a visit to Berlin Palace, when he found himself inside a mysterious room. Unlike anything he’d ever seen, it’s walls were beautified with panels of amber. Carved and crafted into all kinds of intricate designs. Crowned with a wealth of gold and gemstones. Few people could have ever afforded such a creation. in modern terms it is worth more than half a billion US dollars. Six tonnes of pure amber went into making the room over a ten year period. It was a ridiculous expense, and a ridiculous thing to just give away to an ally. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and in the year 1716, the entire room was taken apart and transported to Russia.
Russia’s Amber Room
It’s new home would be Saint Petersburg, a new city established by Peter the Great himself. More specifically, it was in Catherine Palace, where a team of Russian and Prussian craftsmen tirelessly worked to install the Amber Room. For over a century it remained here as the jewel of Saint Petersburg. Meanwhile, Russia evolved into a great empire and devolved into the Soviet Union. Then in 1941, there was a minor diplomatic dispute between Germany and the Soviets. It was only a small conflict so you’ve probably never heard this, but Germany actually ended up invading. This came as such a shock the the Soviets that they had no time to disassemble the Amber Room for safekeeping. So as the Germans took Saint Petersburg, the room’s interior was simply covered up by wallpaper.
If we’re being honest, this scooby doo level deception was never going to work, and before long the room had been stripped of it’s precious panels. This was part of a campaign of looting which saw many of Europe’s great treasures stolen, and taken back to Germany. By mid October, the panels had arrived in Königsberg Castle, and by November the Amber Room had been re-assembled. Here it stood for much of the war, just one example of German plunder in those years. There was even an official looting organization, which under the leadership of Hermann Göring, stole more than 21 thousand items across Europe. But, spoiler alert, the Germans lost the war.
Disappearance of The Amber Room
Going into 1945, Konigsberg was constantly being attacked by allied bombing runs. Many of the treasures were thus packed up and evacuated. They had to move quickly, though, as the castle was soon bombed into a ruinous state. This is where the mystery begins. We know plans were made to evacuate the Amber Room. But the man in charge of carrying this out had a breakdown and went AWOL. So there’s a chance no one else bothered to move it. For all we know, the most valuable room on Earth might have simply been bombed into not existing any more. On the other hand, the Amber Room would have been a priority for the Nazis, and it would not be the only piece of loot buried in secret.
A man theory is that it was evacuated aboard the ship Wilhelm Gustloff – a ship that would soon be struck and sank by a Soviet torpedo. So another option is that it remains at the bottom of the sea. Many lines of inquirey were investigated by the Soviets, who understandably wanted to get their sweet room back. In the end they concluded that it was lost in the bombing, and in 1979, construction began on a new Amber Room in Russia. The project took 24 long years and the hard work of dozens of Soviet and German craftsmen, officially being opened in 2003. Yet there are many today who believe the original Amber Room is still out there – hidden, and waiting to be found.