Mystery of The Lost Amber Room

Mystery of The Lost Amber Room

amber lost mystery room Travel

In the grand palace of Catherine I, the second wife of Peter the Great and Empress of Russia, there once existed a magnificent golden room adorned from floor to ceiling with precious amber, gold and other semi-precious stones. For nearly two hundred years the Amber Room dazzled visitors to the Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg. But then the Nazis invaded, and the Amber Room, with its 6 tons of amber valued between $140–500 million, vanished without a trace.

The Amber Room was originally installed at the Berlin City Palace, the winter residence of Frederick I, the first King of Prussia. The room was designed by German baroque sculptor Andreas Schlüter and constructed by the Danish amber craftsman Gottfried Wolfram, and later by Ernst Schacht and Gottfried Turau from Danzig. When Peter the Great of Russia paid a visit in 1716 and showed interest in the Amber Room, King Frederick I's son Frederick William I, who prized his military prowess over his late father’s artistic endeavors, gifted the room to Peter to cement the Prussian-Russian alliance against Sweden.



Hand-colored photograph of the original Amber Room, 1931. Photo credit: public domain

The Russians installed the Amber Room in the Winter House in St. Petersburg before Peter’s daughter, Czarina Elizabeth, decided to move the Room to the Catherine Palace in 1755. The room was restored and enlarged throughout the 18th century. It became Catherine the Great’s private meditation chamber and a gathering room for her intimate circle, and later Alexander II (1818-1881) used the Room as a trophy room for his amber collection.

In 1941, the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, and began looting tens of thousands of art treasures across the country. They had already set their eyes on the Amber Room, which they believed rightfully belonged to the Germans. The curators of the Catherine Palace tried to disassemble and hide the Amber Room, but over the years the amber had dried out and started to crumble. So a half-hearted attempt was made at hiding the room behind a wallpaper. But it didn’t fool the Nazis. Within 36 hours they tore down the room and shipped it to Königsberg, Germany, in present-day Kaliningrad, where it was reinstalled in Königsberg's castle museum.



Königsberg Castle and Courtyard, c. 1900. Photo credit: United States Library of Congress/public domain

Towards the end of the war, as Soviet forces pressed towards the city, the Germans dismantled the room once again, packed it into crates and hid it. Shortly thereafter, the Soviets bombed the castle to ruins. Based on reports that the crates containing the panels of Amber Room was hidden within the castle itself, the Soviets concluded that the Amber Room was destroyed.

But the story of the Amber Room didn’t rest there. Rumor persist that the Nazis managed to move the crates out of the castle into some secret location before the Soviets bombed the city. There are several theories about what may have happened to the precious amber crates. The most popular theory is that it still hidden in some old bunker.

In 1979, the Soviet government began to construct a replica of the Amber Room based on original drawings and old black-and-white photographs. The project took 24 years to complete, largely because it required artisans to re-learn the old and forgotten art of amber craftsmanship. A generous donation by a German company helped financed the project.

While a replica Amber Room is back in its rightful home, the search for the original will continue to grip the imagination of historians and treasure hunters. Just two months ago (June 2016), some researchers were digging at some old German bunkers in Poland. Their initial claim that they had located the Amber crates created a lot of buzz in the media. But the trail has gone cold once again.



Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg. Photo credit: Florstein/Wikimedia





Photo credit: Larry Koester/Flickr



Photo credit: Larry Koester/Flickr



Photo credit: Byron Howes/Flickr





Photo credit: Ron Kikuchi/Flickr

Sources: Wikipedia / The Daily Beast / Smithsonian Mag / www.amberroom.org

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Room Below the Level of Water in the Indian Ocean

Room Below the Level of Water in the Indian Ocean

Architecture below indian level ocean room water:

Off the coasts of Pemba Island in Tanzania, Manta Resort recently opened a brand new type of room in the middle of the water. This little wooden house indeed allows its tenants to spend the night under the sea level. Notice to diving fans.





















 

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40 Simple But Fashionable Living Room Wall Decoration Ideas

40 Simple But Fashionable Living Room Wall Decoration Ideas

decoration fashionable Furniture Design living room simple wall

Your home is a matter of pride to you even though if you look at it from a merely practical point of view it is only a shelter for you. But we tend to view it not from a practical but sentimental view and that is why we spend so much money and effort on picking out just the right furniture and decorations for your home. And here we are talking only about time and money and we are not even counting the time you spend on this endeavor. That is why when you look at stunning modern living room designs we are full of awe because we are aware of the sheer amount of time and effort as well as money that has gone into it. Even though attractive red living room ideas may be something that you associate with homes of ill repute (for some at least) you will still admire it from an impersonal point of view.



Simple But Fashionable Living Room Wall Decoration Ideas











Some of us will even look at opulent and plush private jet interiors to take inspiration in order to make our living room look fashionable and personal. The fact is that most of us will pay a lot of attention in terms of the details to the living room decoration and this could be because we spend the most time here. And it is probably the first room that most people who enter see and this enables them to form an opinion of the rest of your room.

















The living room is a reflection of your personality and that of the others who live in your home. This means that you basically put the essence of who and what you are into the living room decoration. That is why in many living rooms you will see a wall that is decorated to the pictures of the family members and this can give you an idea of the personalities of the people who reside in the house.

















For some the living room wall is all about the tastes we have in art and we tend to put together our living room wall accordingly. In some instances, we go for a minimalistic look because that is what our personality is all about. We love our lives and homes to be uncluttered and this is what reflects on the wall of your living room. We feel that even if you can afford to go to a decorator to do up your living room walls; you should ensure that it carries your personal stamp on it.

















Even it means a collection of your favorite clocks or samplers of threadwork that you love, it is best to go with something close and personal to you in terms of the tastes you have. If you are still not convinced, we want you to think of the impression you have gotten when you step into a hotel suite. The room could be perfect and pristine and you may find it appealing but it will not speak to you. The same can be said for rooms that you find in the homes of rich people. They are awesome when considered technically but they lack the personality.

















This is the indefinable something that we feel that you need to concentrate on once you get the general idea together. We feel that most of us tend to get caught in color schemes and decorative themes rather than the usability and warmth of the space.















We also provide you with some images of living room wall decorations besides food for thought and as usual we seek your opinion about all of them.

 

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