German Steamship Wreck May Hold Looted Treasures From Russian Palace

2024-05-21 1,126

The wreck of a German steamship sunk at the end of World War II found by divers, with the crates on board the submerged vessel holding the precious furnishings of the lost 18th century Amber Room, which German soldiers looted from a Russian royal palace.

The shipwreck was located north of the Polish seaside town of Ustka, at a depth of 290 feet (88 meters), after more than a year of searching for it on the floor of the Baltic Sea, said Tomasz Stachura, who led the discovery. Stachura is one of the founders of the Baltictech dive team. By a curious coincidence, the wrecked ship has the same name — Karlsruhe— as a WWII German warship found off Norway last month, which was sunk in 1940. Both ships were named after a city in Germany.