Dazzling Jewels Stolen in Green Vault Heist Go Back on Display in Dresden

Nearly five years ago, thieves snuck into Dresden Castle’s renowned Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) in Germany—and made away with a collection of historic jewels worth more than $100 million. Now, many of the precious artifacts are going back on display, allowing visitors to admire them once again.

“The jewels are being presented exactly as they were when they were returned,” says Marion Ackermann, director general of the Dresden State Art Collections, in a statement. She adds that they have sustained damage that is “hardly visible,” but they will still need to be restored. In the meantime, the museum is implementing updated security protocols to ensure that similar thefts don’t happen in the future.

The gems date back hundreds of years to the time of Augustus the Strong, the elector of Saxony and king of Poland. Augustus was a renowned collector of fine art, gemstones and intricate metalwork. In 1723, he transformed a chamber in Dresden Castle into the Green Vault, creating an opulent Baroque space to showcase his extensive collection.

In the 300 years since then, the vault has survived numerous threats, including world wars, lootings and bombings. The 2019 robbery was just the latest in a long line of challenges. Still, when the treasures vanished, museum officials were shaken.

“I don’t have to tell you how shocked we are by the brutality of this break-in,” Ackermann told the New York Times’ Melissa Eddy and Christopher F. Schuetze hours after the theft was discovered. “As you know, the historical and cultural value of this is immeasurable.”

Security footage revealed two people walking into the vault and taking what appeared to be a small ax to the museum’s display case. They took valuable pieces that together contained over 4,300 diamonds and other stones.

Two years later, in 2022, German law enforcement recovered many of the stolen artifacts. Five men—all members of the same family—were convicted and sentenced to prison time. The criminals admitted to the robbery, saying that they set fire to a local circuit breaker to cut the power at the museum. Then, they used a hydraulic cutting machine to break in.

“The returned pieces are major artistic works of Saxon and international jewelry from the 18th century,” says Ackermann in the statement. “We assume that, in principle, all of the damage is repairable.”

The vault is currently open to the public from Thursdays to Saturdays until 8 p.m. Unfortunately, some of the stolen jewels remain missing. According to NPR’s Joe Hernandez, these include Queen Amalie Auguste’s silver and gold breast bow encrusted with diamonds and an epaulet with the impressive Saxon White diamond.

While recovering the remaining treasures will be a challenge, Ackerman is trying to be optimistic.

“Of course, we have not given up hope of being able to exhibit the remaining jewels here in the Green Vault one day,” she says in the statement.

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Julia Binswanger is a freelance arts and culture reporter based in Chicago. Her work has been featured in WBEZ, Chicago magazine, Rebellious magazine and PC magazine.