This is where Lithuania’s royal property is protected: thieves soaked their spit and committed an “old crime”

It takes at least a million years

Palanga Amber Museum is located in the most beautiful place in Palanga, in the palace of the Earls Tiškevičius. It was these accounts that created Palanga in the 19th century, which everyone wanted to come to. “Coming to Palanga was a matter of status and fashion, to write a postcard from there. There is a surviving postcard, I don’t remember just for whom: “Dear Maryte or dear Onute, I am in Palanga. Great time. Yesterday I was drunk on wine, today on brandy ”, the man laughs. museologist-coordinator of the R. Makauskienė project.

The Amber Museum in the palace has been located since 1963. “It is a very interesting natural material. 50 million years ago, very large forests grew in the subtropical limestone of our Baltic Sea and Scandinavia today. Now it is difficult to imagine that there is Such a climate here. The pines grew, the resin flowed. Over time, they have been affected by various chemical, physical, polymerization, oxidation properties, “says the museologist how amber was formed.

For scientists, R. Makauskienė says that amber is a very interesting material, because of the fossils of plants and animals found in amber, much can be said about that period. What formed in amber takes at least a million years.

Sakai gathered not only on the surface of the tree, but also inside. The shapes remained where the resin flowed. There is also wood residue. Amber, like the famous Sun Stone, could have been gathered in a large wooden pocket, in a forest, “says R. Makauskienė.

Old theft

The stone of the sun is really impressive: the Lithuanian treasure weighing 3 kilograms and 524 grams is one of the largest in the world. It turns out that it’s so attractive that it has even been stolen twice by different criminals. R. Makauskienė laughs and adds that this story is always interesting for everyone and for museologists: it is already boring.

As R. Makauskienė remembers, the Sun Stone was first stolen in 1991. This time, thieves managed to steal not only the famous amber, but also others that were on display. However, the police quickly found the perpetrators.

And here was a much more famous case in 2002, when two brothers decided to steal a Sunstone. At the time, the media called it “robbery of the era” and “crime of the era,” and journalist Edmundas Jakilaitis even offered a ransom of LTL 20,000.

“Two brothers made a wooden staircase and knocked down the museum window. They took the stone away in a minute. Such a stone is known worldwide, in terms of size it is among the top eight. These are very rare nuggets. If there is no customer, who will buy it? After cutting it, it would be possible to make a couple of necklaces, some rings and sell them for a few thousand, “says R. Makauskienė.

The hijacking of the solar stone was classified as an old crime by officials, who found no hook for three months. However, the criminals could not find the clients, so, according to the interlocutor, they began to seek contact with the museum staff, since they were tempted by the 20 thousand litas offered by E. Jakilaitis. “It so happened that they themselves began to seek contact with the museum staff, to call. At first, they said we had the knowledge. After that we found the stone in Klaipeda near the container. And one day they brought it. Before of that there were negotiations, he asked for 20 thousand litas, it was very big money for the museum.

One of the cabinets had a built-in camera. The man brought a suitcase with the Sun Stone. He put money in it. His happiness lasted for a couple of minutes before he was arrested. Everything was filmed ”, remembers R. Makauskienė.

According to her, this story also had fun events. “The worms were looking for traces, they had gone through the water. It was thought that perhaps a boat by sea to the ship was waiting for them. And it turns out that they went into the water, crossed a certain distance, perhaps a kilometer with water, went to the shore and ordered a stone in the sand for a couple of days, “she says.

Being one of the criminals, even after serving his sentence, he even got to look at the treasure he had lost.

For his part, R. Makauskienė says that one piece from each exhibition is valuable to museologists. She is glad that the museum also has very valuable amber with an inclusion. Inside the amber is a lizard. Such exposure, says R. Makauskienė, is extremely rare worldwide.

When to look for amber and how not to cheat

According to R. Makauskienė, most amber can be found in the Kaliningrad region, but Lithuanians have long had a profession of catching amber. So when is it better to look for amber? The interlocutor says that you should go to the beach 2-3 days after the storm. “It just came to our attention then. It would be better to go where the locals travel with nets to the sea. Or where the birds sail, there are dead fish. You can cast amber from deep in those places,” says the expert.

“Amber is our tradition. Amber is found in small quantities compared to other hot ones, so it performed the function of an amulet in the Stone Age. Amber protects. We associate the name with the word” defend, “he says. R. Makauskienė.

According to her, amber is even found in the ancient Curonian tombs, placed in the eyes of the deceased. “The Curonians also had amber pendants, they are found exclusively in the graves of men. There is a graphic motif that emerges in fairy tales: when it is bad, throw that comb on your shoulder and a large forest grows: the enemy does not It can reach the warrior. This motif is repeated in both Scandinavians and Germans, “says the museum specialist.

During the Roman period, the interlocutor says, Baltic amber traveled to civilizations near the Mediterranean and was even found in China.

However, the oldest amber, according to R. Makauskienė, is 200 million years old, found in the Italian Alps. More amber can be found in Mexico, New Zealand, the Dominican Republic, Lebanon, China. However, when asked which amber is the most valuable, the specialist does not hide that this title belongs to the Baltic amber. According to R. Makauskienė, it is valuable for its variety of colors.

“Amber can also be cleaned, disinfected with alcohol and nothing will happen to it. And here is the New Zealand copal (a young formless amber, about 800,000 years old): it would immediately dissolve in the spirit.

“It just came to our attention then. I had to buy amber atheist beetles in Turkey. It was dirty, I wanted to clean it, I threw it into the water. The next morning, there was nothing in the glass of water. It melted. Maybe it was caramel. or some kind of plaster, ”laughs R. Makauskien.” He also emphasizes that you will not pierce real amber in any way with the needle.

The sad fate of wealth

If amber is no longer as interesting to you, the interior of the 19th century Tiškevičiai Palace has been restored on the ground floor of the museum. R. Makauskienė is pleased that the renovation was carried out in 2015.

The palace, he says, was designed by the famous architect Franz Heinrich Schwechten. It turns out that in 2006 employees of the Lithuanian National Art Museum managed to find the original construction plans for the palace in Berlin. “During the renovation, the old drawings helped a lot. It is surprising that what the architect thought, what he achieved and practically did not suffer serious damage during the two wars ”, R. Makauskienė is happy.

She says that at the time of the Counts, representative rooms were installed on the first floor and 14 rooms on the second floor. The palace was built together with the park in 1897.

The rooms have been redesigned. In the time of the Counts, there were representative rooms at the bottom and 14 rooms at the top.

“As for the counts, when Lithuania recovered, the land reform took place. The counts’ lands were severely cut. There was not as much beauty as before World War I after that. Of course, comparing the current photos, this palace is like day and night compared to 1930, now it is very beautiful to see, “says R. Makauskienė.

There is an impressive tapestry in the red room, says R. Makauskienė. “It just came to our attention then. The tapestry belonged to Tiškevičiai. Our Tiškevičiai Feliksas and Antanina are from Kretinga. Félix inherited Palanga with the surrounding villages. And this tapestry is definitely in Kretinga. And sometime before the Second War World, it was donated to a maiden who lived in Palanga. And in 1972, events happened that the museum bought that tapestry, “says the guide.

When asked why a maiden received a tapestry, she replied that there were very turbulent times before the war. “The earls gradually brought wealth to this and other palaces. They were transported to Warsaw. But the fate of those goods in Warsaw is very sad, since the center of Warsaw burned down in the first days of the war. And he gave him the tapestry, because maybe he couldn’t take it, take it out, “thinks the specialist.