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Lost crowns, funeral scepters, and medieval coins from the 1200s and 1400s resurfaced in Poland and Lithuania, rewriting what we know about Central European royalty.
By Tim Newcomb
Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:
- The 15th-century Vilnius Treasure was hidden in Lithuania during World War II and recently rediscovered.
- The Środa Treasure from the 13th century included a royal crown and was rediscovered in the 1980s.
- Both treasures tell the story of interconnected European history, royalty, and wealth stretching from Lithuania to Luxembourg.
Rediscovering hidden European royal treasure from centuries past has become almost commonplace over the past few decades, with two massive historical finds now headlining museum collections in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Wroclaw, Poland. The treasures highlight the historic links between Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Luxembourg while offering up spectacular royal wealth dating as far back as the 13th century.
The Vilnius Treasure, a mix of funeral adornments for royals from the 15th and 16th centuries, is the most recent find to reenter the public eye. The modern story of the Vilnius Treasure started in 1931. A spring flood exposed royal crypts under the city’s cathedral, allowing for the discovery of the remains of three royals and the regalia buried with them. The treasure included three funeral crowns, a scepter, an orb, jewelry, and personal items buried with the rulers of the Lithuanian-Polish Jagiellonian dynasty: King Alexander Jagiellon and the queens Elizabeth of Austria and Barbara Radziwill.
Read the full article on Popular Mechanics:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a71933505/two-european-royal-treasures-were-lost-finding-them-rewrites-history/
