Discovery of a Medieval Well Raises New Questions About Nazis and a Polish Castle

Ancient Origins

A team of Polish researchers has discovered a well which dates back to medieval times. It is located in the famous castle of Książ in Wałbrzych, Lower Silesia, Poland. Although they previously believed that it may have been a part of a system of tunnels created by Nazis, the real story of the well may be even more fascinating.

According to Gazeta Wyborcza, the well was found under the floor of a tower discovered last July. It is quadrilateral and without any visible damages. One side of the well is 2.5 meters (8.2 ft.) wide, and it is about 50 meters (164 ft.) deep. The tower which covered the mysterious well was discovered while cleaning the road area near the castle. It is dated back to the 18th century and was depicted on drawings of the castle. The well was examined with a camera, which confirmed that the discovery is very rare and will bring much more information after it is further explored by the researchers.

A photo taken inside of the well at Książ Castle in Wałbrzych, Poland. (ZWIK Łódź)

However, the future works will be demanding, and it's necessary to apply more analysis before the team will be able to continue. During the first exploration, they found chisels, but it is unknown what period they come from. It is possible that the medieval well was closed after the18th century, which makes the discovery extremely interesting.

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The Castle of Książ is one of the most iconic in Poland. Originally built in the early medieval period, it was destroyed in 1263. The new castle was created at the end of the 13th century, and through history it had many different owners, including the famous Hochberg family. During World War II, the castle was held by the Nazis. Nowadays, Książ Castle is considered one of the pearls of the region. In this area there are more stories about hidden chests, trains, and chambers where Nazis could have hidden treasures than places for them to actually have hidden it.

A decorated room inside Książ Castle. (Dariusz Cierpiał/CC BY SA 3.0)

Essentially, every Polish city which belonged to the Germans in the past has stories related to lost loot. One of the most interesting tales is about the precious treasures of Daisy of Pless and her possible lover Emperor Wilhelm II. However, it's only a legend. The treasures from this story were stolen by the Russian army, and any that survived are currently exhibited in a museum.
Wałbrzych, like many other places in Silesia, still hides many secrets. Recently, another group of researchers was trying to find the legendary Nazi train that is said to be filled with treasures. As April Holloway wrote on November 9, 2015:

''Headlines were made around the world as treasure hunters identified a legendary Nazi train packed with weapons, gold, money, and archives hidden in a long-forgotten tunnel in the Polish mountains. It is believed that the train may also contain the long-lost Amber Room of Charlottenburg Palace, an early 1700s room crafted from amber, gold, and precious jewels, estimated to now be worth $385 million.”

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Hand-colored photograph of the original Amber Room, 1931. (Public Domain)

Holloway continued:

“Poland’s Culture Ministry announced that the location of the Nazi train was revealed to Piotr Koper of Poland and Andreas Richter of Germany through a deathbed confession.  The Telegraph reported that two treasure-hunters found the 100-meter-long armored train and immediately submitted a claim to the Polish government – under Polish law those who find treasures can keep 10 per cent of the value of their find. The Polish Ministry has confirmed the location of the train using ground-penetrating radar. The train is said to be located in an underground tunnel constructed by the Nazis along a 4km stretch of track on the Wroclaw-Walbrzych line. However, its exact location is being kept hidden, not least because it is believed to be booby trapped or mined and will need to be investigated through a careful operation conducted by the Army, Police, and Fire Brigade.''

Researchers still haven’t been lucky enough to find the legendary train and its rich contents. However, they have already announced that the search will continue.
Top Image: Książ castle in Wałbrzych, Lower Silesia, Poland. (Piotr Bieniecki/ CC BY SA 4.0) Detail: A photo taken inside the newly discovered well. (ZWIK Łódź)

 By Natalia Klimczak

Polish Museum Claims to Have Located the Elusive Amber Room that Was Stolen by Nazis

Ancient Origins

After 60 years of hunting for the missing Amber Room, a magnificent treasure stolen by the Nazis, a museum in Poland suggests that they know where is it located. This is the second time within a year that rumors have run rampant about the treasure being located in Poland.

The Mamerki museum near Węgorzewo, in north east Poland, is one of the most interesting forts related to World War II. The area is still full of secrets (and perhaps a hidden treasure.) According to TVN24, this place has also been connected with the legendary Amber Room, which was created for the Russian tsar Peter the Great in the 1700s.

The original Amber Room, 1931. (Public Domain)

The museum in Mamerki (in German: Mauerwald) recently reported that they have discovered an unknown room measuring 3 meters (9.84 ft.) long and 2 meters (6.56 ft.) wide. Using geo-radar, they say that they’ve found a secret hidden place located inside an old wartime bunker.

The geo-radar reading the museum says shows the existence of the hidden bunker. (Mamerki Museum)
The Amber Room was stolen by the Nazis and was allegedly on its way to becoming one of Adolf Hitler’s greatest treasures when it was lost. The Amber Room originally contained 450kg (992.08lb) of amber decorated with gold, pieces of art, jewels, and mirrors. It was located in St Petersburg from the times of Peter the Great, until the day when the Nazis dismantled it and decided to transport it to Königsberg Castle (Kaliningrad) (which was controlled by them at the time). It was during this transport that it was said to have accidentally disappeared. Strangely enough, the documentation connected with the transport was lost too.

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The suggestion that the Amber Room may be hidden in Mamerki is just one of the hypotheses related to the Amber Room’s location, but the researchers are convinced that it is much more. As Bartlomiej Plebanczyk from the museum told MailOnline:

''We think there is a very good chance that the Amber Room is here for a number of reasons. Of course there were no such devices as ground-penetrating radar in the 1950s, so examining and finding hidden spaces wasn't possible. Inside may be elements of the Amber Chamber, but also other looted art. But there is no doubt that the room was created specifically for the purpose of treasure.''

Evidence for the hypothesis comes from a former Nazi guard who told Polish soldiers in the 1950s, that during the winter of 1944 he saw trucks driving up to the bunker. The trucks were said to have been heavily-guarded and they left their large cargo in Mamerki. At the time, the Polish bomb squads looked for proof, but they didn't find anything. The mysterious room  where the treasure is thought to be, will be opened during the next few weeks.

The bunker in Poland where the Amber Room may be located. (TVN24)

In 1982, the Russians started to build a replica of the Amber Room. After 20 years, visitors to Catherine Palace, near St Petersburg, can enjoy the beauty of this incredible place once again. Nonetheless, the obsession of treasure hunters in discovering the real Amber Room is still prevalent. During the last 60 years, many of them have lost their lives or suffered from health problems by searching for it.
In August 2015, Ancient Orgins reported that treasure hunters claimed to have identified a legendary Nazi train packed with gold and other treasure, hidden in a long-forgotten tunnel in the Polish mountains. It was said that the train may also contain the long-lost Amber Room. However, it seems to be unlikely that the train will be explored in the near future. Some of the experts suggested that this location may not even contain a train at all.

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Apart from this, there are many other possible hypotheses about the current location of the Amber Room. Some researchers believe that the Amber Room has never left Kaliningrad, and it is buried in the ruins of the city.

Königsberg Castle, 1925. (Public Domain)

Another idea says that it was transported on one of two ships - the Steuben or Wilhelm Gustloff. Both of them sank in the Baltic Sea during World War II. Yet another hypothesis claims that the Amber Room is located in a hidden place somewhere in Russia.
In the 1990s, newspapers in Poland and Russia quoted eyewitnesses who swore that they saw the real Amber Room in a house of one of the noble Russians. This rumor has never been confirmed.  Finally, some people also believe that they can find the Amber Room in Germany. For example, an amateur group of treasure hunters hopes to find it in the city of Wuppertal.

Corner section of the reconstructed Amber Room. (Public Domain)

Featured Image: Tsarskoye Selo, Catherine Palace. The Amber Room as it would have appeared in 1917. Source: Public Domain
By Natalia Klimczak

Archaeologists Launch Official Search for Treasure of King Alaric Sought by the Nazis

Ancient Origins

The local and provincial administration of Cosenza in Italy has launched a plan to systematically search for the treasure hoard of Alaric, King of the Visigoths, who looted the riches during his sack of Rome in the 5th century. Italian archaeologists will be utilizing the latest technological innovations in their search for the treasure, which legend says was buried alongside Alaric somewhere near the confluence of two rivers in Cosenza.  Adolph Hitler was obsessed with the goal of finding the hidden loot, but the Nazis never located it.

Alaric’s treasure is believed to be buried with his body somewhere near the confluence of two rivers in Cosenza, Italy. The River Crathis in Cosenza (Public domain)

The Sack of Rome

Alaric I (395 – 410 AD) was the first King of the Visigoths and leader of the army that sacked Rome in August 410, an act that played a significant role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

The Huns had forced the Goths to seek refuge in the Eastern Roman Empire, but high taxes, starvation, and poor treatment from the Roman population caused the Goths to rebel.  King Alaric led his troops on a rampage through the Balkans and into Italy, where they sacked Rome, the seat of the richest senatorial noble families and the centre of their cultural patronage. 

For three days, the Goths plundered the city, ransacking buildings, including homes of the wealthy, the treasury, and the mausoleums of Augustus and Hadrian. Alaric was said to have left the city with wagons containing two tons of gold, thirteen tons of silver, 4,000 silk tunics, 3,000 fleeces, and 3,000 pounds of pepper.

After plundering the city, Alaric planned to march into Sicily and later Africa, but he never achieved these goals as he died soon later in 410 AD.

The Sack of Rome by the Visigoths on 24 August 410 by J-N Sylvestre, 1890 (Public domain)

The Death of King Alaric

It is not clear how Alaric died, but it is assumed that he either died from an illness or in battle during an enemy attack.

According to the historian Jordanes, who wrote about the Goths in the sixth century, Alaric was buried along with the looted treasures in a tomb at the confluence of the Busento and Crathis rivers.

“Turning from its course the river Busentus, near the city of Cosentia, they led a band of captives into the midst of its bed to dig out a place for his grave,” writes Jordanes in his book De Origine Actibusque Getarum (‘The Origin and Deeds of the Goths’). “In the depths of this pit they buried Alaric, together with many treasures, and then turned the waters back into their channel. And that none might ever know the place, they put to death all the diggers.”

The burial of Alaric in the bed of the Busento River. 1895 wood engraving. (Public domain)

The Search for Alaric’s Treasure

During the mid-18th century, a huge project took place to unearth the tomb of Alaric, but nothing was found. Then, in the early 19th century, writer and traveller Alexandre Dumas visited Cosenza after a major earthquake had drained the Busento River. Dumas reported that numerous people began fervently digging for the Roman treasure, but again no treasure or tomb was unearthed.

In the 20th century, the accounts of the treasure attracted the attention of Adolph Hitler and Heinrich Himmler, who ordered an extensive search for the hidden loot. But they too came back empty handed.

The Telegraph reports that the search has now begun again, this time with the whole-hearted support of the Cosenza authorities.

"Historical sources and clues confirm that the treasure of Alaric was buried in Cosenza," Mario Occhiuto, the mayor of Cosenza, said in a statement [via The Telegraph]. “The treasure consisted of about 10 wagons full of gold and silver, and perhaps also the sacred Jewish candelabra, the Menorah.

The town of Cosenza has commissioned a team of archaeologists to search for the treasure and is hoping that if the loot is found, it will attract hordes of tourists to the area.

Featured image: Illustration from the 1920s depicting Alaric parading through Athens after conquering the city in 395 AD. (Public domain)