N e w s

The official opening of the Amber Cabinet to the public will take place on May 31, 2003, as a part of the celebration events for the 300th Anniversary of foundation of St. Petersburg.

After many years of unsuccessful search and removal of the Search Committee in 1984 (operating since 1967), it was finally decided to re-create the Amber Cabinet through the preserved sketches and studies of the chamber. The first restoration works were started back in 1979 and lasted until present days, using over 6 tons of amber, supplied by Kaliningrad Amber Plant.

At the moment the restoration work is 95 % completed.

The treasures of the Amber Chamber were taken away from the Catherine II Palace by Germans during the Second World War. Nowadays there are three main versions of the location of this unique piece of craftsmanship. First one is based on Germans being unable to bring it our of Russia, hid it in some secret bunker in Kaliningrad (Konisberg) region. According to the second version (quite the opposite to the first one), this cabinet of "Baltic gold" was evacuated from Eastern Prussia and hid somewhere either in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Check Republic or even… in South America, where it was delivered on a submarine.

Third version, least optimistic one, suggests destruction of the Amber Cabinet during fires in Konisberg, caused by massive attacks of English aviation. Nevertheless, there are other versions of its tragic disappearance, such as drowning of the ship transporting in Baltic sea.