Sao Viet

A treasure chest bursting with a bounty of silver has been unearthed in the ruins of a 14th Century AD, castle in Poland 🇵🇱 Hidden within the stone walls of a 500-year-old castle, restorers have stumbled upon a secret chamber that solved a mystery left unsolved for more than eight decades. Inside lay a hoard of silver treasures looted by the Nazis during World War II, stolen from Jewish families and cultural institutions across Europe. After the war, the collection disappeared without a trace, fueling generations of speculation about whether it had been destroyed, dispersed, or hidden away.

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Hidden ‘treasure trove’ of WW2 silver unearthed at 600-year-old castle used by Nazis

A TREASURE chest bursting with a bounty of silver has been unearthed in the ruins of a 14th century castle in Poland.

The precious items are thought to have belonged to Jews who were murdered in WWII.

The precious items were unearthed in the castle grounds

The precious items were unearthed in the castle groundsCredit: Stowarzyszenie Historyczno Eksploracyjne Sądecczyzny

It's thought that Nazis buried the treasure after stealing it from Jewish people

It’s thought that Nazis buried the treasure after stealing it from Jewish peopleCredit: Stowarzyszenie Historyczno Eksploracyjne Sądecczyzny

Nowy Sącz Royal Castle is a now ruined medieval building that’s around 600 years old.

It’s thought that the Nazis hid the stash of stolen items there when they occupied Poland.

The Nowy Sącz Historical and Exploratory Association carried out an exploration of the castle and made the sensational discovery.

The silver treasure included goblets, cutlery and tableware

The silver treasure included goblets, cutlery and tablewareCredit: Stowarzyszenie Historyczno Eksploracyjne Sądecczyzny

The First News reported that lead detectorist Stanisław Pustułka first found fragments of paper before the silver was revealed.

She said: “We started to extract the paper delicately, which appeared first.

“It was in very poor condition. After a while, we saw silver, a lot of silver.”

The items were buried in a chest

The items were buried in a chestCredit: Stowarzyszenie Historyczno Eksploracyjne Sądecczyzny

The 103 silver objects had been buried in a rusty disintegrating chest.

Each item is said to have been made in either Austria or Poland.

Local archaeologist Bartłomiej Urbański said to The First News: “It is Judaica, probably from the turn of the 19th and 20th century, connected to Jewish ritual and was probably buried during World War Two.

“Is it connected with the buildings that used to be in this part of the city, or was it stolen by the Germans, who were then unable to take it away?”

The Polish castle where the discovery was made was turned into a barracks by the Nazis in the summer of 1941.

They also used it as an ammunition depot and proceeded to take 20,000 Nowy Sącz Jews from the town.

In 1942 the entire Jewish population of the area was sent to the Bełżec death camp.

Underground Polish soldiers blew up the Nazi barracks in 1945 and almost completely destroyed the castle.

They'll soon go on display in a museum

They’ll soon go on display in a museumCredit: Stowarzyszenie Historyczno Eksploracyjne Sądecczyzny

Other finds at the castle include a collection of 15th-century dinar coins.

Nowy Sącz Castle is being explored because there are plans to rebuild it.

It was created by King Kazimierz the Great in 1350-1360.

All that remains today are its outer walls and a partial tower reconstruction within.

The silver treasure will now be handed over to archaeologists who will list all the items and then display them in a local museum.