Quite a history to this. The original was a gift from the Prussian king to Peter the Great in the early 18th century; survived all kinds of upheavals until the Nazis invaded, removed & packed up the wall panels & sent them back to Germany, where they were reportedly destroyed in the bombing of Königsberg…BUT there are so many conflicting reports about this and clues as to its “true” whereabouts (and there are just way too many links to begin to list here) that a cottage industry of Amber Room hunters has sprouted up over the last several decades. One thing of note: the piece of art you see in the second pic is from the original room. It was recovered from the family of a former Nazi and this, more than anything, fuels speculation that the original panels are still out there, waiting to be found.
At some point the Russians gave up trying to find it and began a restoration project in the 80s that more or less succeeded in recreating the room by 2003.
I always thought it would make a great Indiana Jones movie, “The Curse of the Amber Room”, where if you found it, recreated it & stood in a certain spot you could…I dunno…read minds or see the future or something…AT THE COST OF YOUR SOOOOOUUUUULLLL…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_Room
Ooooh, a mystery.
I bet their are mysteries like this all over Europe. Must GO!
Excellent post subject HoChunk; I have read that the play and reflection of candle light off the walls of this room creates a warm inviting ambiance that cannot be captured on film.
ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
HoChunk, you’re cool =P
friggin’ nazi’s. i’m glad they restored it. i like amber. i’d like to see this in person.
Eh, it wasn’t that great. The tours are really crowded and you can’t go anywhere except a narrow space.
@...storminator: It’s very nice. Or it was ~20 years ago. 🙂
I remember the fountains at Peterhof quite clearly, and would recommend them if you are in the area.
Sounds like that shit-eating flying pest entered this thread about halfway through.
Glad to disappoint it. 😀