- First visitors to stolen jewels in the Green Vault
The day after the official presentation, the first visitors to the Historical Green Vault took in the jewelry pieces stolen in 2019 and later returned, displayed in their wall vitrine. A Dresden resident, who was guiding his French friends through the Saxon State Art Collections, expressed "great joy" at the sight. However, he was still shocked by the brutality and disrespect shown towards the art treasures and the museum. "But joy prevails," the 65-year-old said, demonstrating to his friends how the jewel thieves used axes to smash holes in the special glass of the vitrine to get to the sparkling diamonds and brilliants - and then tore them out of their settings or apart.
Spectacular Art Heist in November 2019
The art heist on November 25, 2019, is considered one of the most spectacular in Germany. The perpetrators made off with 21 unique historical jewelry pieces from the 18th-century gem collection and caused over one million euros in damage. Five young men from the Remmo clan were sentenced to prison terms by the Dresden Regional Court in May 2023 for theft, as well as arson of a getaway car in the underground garage of a residential building and a power distributor. Shortly before Christmas 2022, they returned the majority of the loot through their lawyers.
History of the Criminal Case as Part of the Exhibition
Almost reverential silence reigned in front of the wall vitrine displaying the Diamond Rose and Brilliant set and the Queen's Brilliant jewelry shortly after the opening of the world-famous museum on the ground floor of the Residenzschloss. People read the history of the criminal case, which also made international headlines, with interest on the digital stele next to it and gazed at the stolen pieces for a long time. From Thursday, the opening hours will be extended to 8:00 p.m. each day. Access is only possible with timed tickets to protect the exhibits from various centuries, some of which are freely displayed on consoles. 1,000 free tickets for September, which the SKD raffled off on the internet, were all gone by Tuesday evening, as a spokesperson reported.
Some Prominent Objects Still Missing
The historical vitrine plundered in the November night was repaired and restocked almost a year and a half later. Only the pieces of the Brilliant and Diamond sets that the thieves spared or could not reach through the holes they hacked into the glass with an axe were in their original place: buttons, buckles, and pearl necklaces. Now many gaps have been filled, but three prominent objects with large stones are still missing - including the epaulette with the "Saxon White," a brilliant of almost 50 carats, which experts consider one of the world's most important diamonds.
The returned jewelry pieces, once considered priceless art, are now on display for visitors to appreciate. Despite the restoration efforts, some of the most significant artifacts, such as the epaulette with the "Saxon White," remain missing.
