The Rescue of Dresden Art Gallery

Dresden, a city in Germany, has a long history as the capital and royal residence for German kings. The city was famous for its magnificent royal palaces and beautiful buildings. Besides its architectural wonders, the city had a priceless collection of ancient paintings. They were kept in the Old Masters Picture Gallery from the 18th century till World War II. That is why the city was sometimes called The Jewel Box.

Unfortunately, the city's landmarks were totally destroyed during World War II. Only in 2005 the city was finally restored. German and Russian archaeologists, sculptors and artists worked hard to return the city to its historical look. Dresden Art Gallery was one of the most challenging tasks.

When the Soviet Army entered Dresden in 1945, they found the gallery totally ruined, and most of its exhibits were burnt or gone. The gallery staff said that the masterpieces of Raphael, Rembrandt and Titian had been evacuated by railway. However, no one knew where exactly they were. General Konev, the Soviet Army's commander, ordered to find the art collection as soon as possible.

The search group of Russian soldiers questioned local people but found little information. The help came from one of the gallery keepers. The woman was sure that the collection wasn't evacuated, it was hidden somewhere in the building of the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. She was partly right. Amid the ruins of the building, the group found a room in the basement filled with sculptures and pieces of antique furniture. Unfortunately, the famous paintings were not discovered.

There, the searchers found the necessary clue. A soldier noticed that one of the walls looked new. The wall was destroyed, and behind it, there was an old wardrobe. Inside, they found a map labelled "Top secret". The map was hard to read because of strange letters and symbols but soon the searchers solved the riddle. The letters stood for the locations in the nearby area. One of them indicated an old tunnel abandoned long before.

When the search group reached the tunnel, they found that the entrance was blocked. After removing the mines, the soldiers found the priceless paintings in the underground room. The original of The Sistine Madonna by Raphael was among them. As the cold, damp air could easily destroy the delicate paint, the search group decided to lift up the findings from the underground immediately.

The soldiers guarded the paintings until Moscow restoration artists arrived. They examined the paintings and decided to carry them to Moscow for professional treatment. The restoration of the saved masterpieces took ten years. In 1955 the whole collection was returned to Dresden where it has been displayed up to the present time. The Sistine Madonna got its beauty back and became a delight for millions of museum visitors.

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