Crowns, jewels, and a scepter belonging to royal members of the old Poland-Lithuania commonwealth have recently been found behind loose stones under a cathedral in Vilnius.
Hidden away for safeguarding before the outbreak of World War II, the artifacts were described as “priceless historical treasures,” that demonstrate the close union between the two countries.
According to Polish news, the hunt for the lost royal treasures began a decade ago. While the Archdiocese of Lithuania knew the items were down in the subterranean level of the Vilnius Cathedral, they weren’t exactly sure where.
Specialists from the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania Museum arrived last October for a survey using endoscopic cameras, and were able to locate the treasures hidden behind medieval stonework under a staircase. The discovery was announced on January 6th.
“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,” Gintaras Grušas, the Archbishop Metropolitan of Vilnius, told reporters at the time.
The items included the funerary crown of Alexander Jagellion, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania between 1501 and 1506. The crown was not meant for the man during his life, but was sculpted for his eventual entombment.
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Also among the items were the scepter, orb, rings, chains, and medallions of two women: Elisabeth of Austria and Barbara Radziwiłł, the first and second wives of another king/grand duke, Sigismund II Augustus.
Elisabeth hailed from the Hapsburg family, which along with the Jagellion dynasty formed two of the longest and most powerful royal families in northern Europe for centuries.
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Collected after a 1931 flood exposed the coffins of the monarchs in the understorey of the cathedral. Hastily wrapped in newspaper and hidden behind the wall, they are the most valuable historical artifacts from this period in Lithuania’s history, during which it was joined in political and matrimonial bonds to Poland for a period of around 400 years.
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