Cache of Royal Treasures Rediscovered in Vilnius Crypt
The Old Cathedral of Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, has given up one of her enduring secrets. The burial regalia of monarchs of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth has been rediscovered, hidden behind a wall in a crypt.
The treasure, which includes crowns, chains, medallions and rings, was originally hidden during the Second World War to prevent the items from being looted, reports TVP World. However the exact location of the cache was lost after the war, and the treasures were only rediscovered in December 2024.
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a federative union that existed between 1569 to 1795 and joined the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The commonwealth may no longer exist but was one of the largest and most powerful countries in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries.
- A Cut Above: Agoge, the Ancient Spartan Entry Test
- 21 Grams, Artificial Intelligence, and the Path to Robot Suffrage
The regalia includes the funeral crown of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander Jagiellon, as well as additional items belonging to Elisabeth of Austria (Elżbieta Habsburżanka), the first wife of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund II Augustus. There are also items belonging to Sigismund’s second wife Barbara, including another crown as well as a royal orb and scepter.
Gintaras Grušas, the Archbishop Metropolitan of Vilnius, helped explain the discovery. “On December 16, 2024, a secret hiding place was opened in the crypts, where the royal regalia was hidden at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 […] These crowns were not worn while the rulers were alive but were made after their deaths and were intended to be part of their tombs. The discovered insignia are priceless historical treasures, symbols of Lithuania’s long tradition of statehood, symbols of Vilnius as the capital city, and magnificent works of goldsmithing and jewelry.”
The search for the lost treasures had been ongoing for decades, fueled by rumors from the outbreak of the Second World War as well as sketches made of the cathedral’s subterranean levels. The hiding place was initially discovered in 1985, but it was only in October 2024 that a survey with an endoscopic camera revealed the hidden regalia.
But these are not the only lost treasures that are being hunted. The real goal of the search is the tomb of Vytautas the Great, Grand Duke of Lithuania. But the site of his burial has never been found, and the search continues.
Original Source: https://tvpworld.com/84394276/burial-crowns-of-polish-lithuanian-monarchs-unearthed-in-vilnius-cathedral.
Header Image: The burial crowns found, which form part of the royal treasures uncovered in Vilnius cathedral. Source: PAP/Valdemar Doveiko.
Leave a Reply