Green Vault

The Grünes Gewölbe (English: Green Vault) in Dresden is a unique historic museum that contains the largest collection of treasures in Europe. Founded by Augustus the Strong in 1723, it features a rich variety of exhibits from the Baroque to Classicism. It is named after the formerly malachite green painted column bases and capitals of the initial rooms. It has some claim to be the oldest museum in the world; it is older than the British Museum founded in 1759, but the Vatican Museums date their foundation to the public display of the newly excavated Laocoön group in 1506.

After the devastation of World War II, the Grünes Gewölbe has been completely restored. Today, its treasures are shown in two exhibitions: The Historic Green Vault (Historisches Grünes Gewölbe) is famous for its splendors of the historic treasure chamber as it existed in 1733, while the New Green Vault (Neues Grünes Gewölbe) focuses the attention on each individual object in neutral rooms.

The Grünes Gewölbe is located on the first and second floors of the western section of the Dresdner Residenzschloss. It is now part of the Dresden State Art Collections.

The history of the "Green Vault" goes back to the year 1547, when elector Moritz of Saxony initiated the building of an additional west wing to the palace. Four of the new rooms on the first floor were given elaborate, molded plaster ceilings. The column bases and their capitals were painted with a characteristic bluish-green paint. Due to this color, the rooms were soon known as the "Green Vault", and the name has endured. The official name of the suite of rooms, which was protected against fire and robbery by thick walls, iron shutters and doors, was "Privy Repository" (Geheime Verwahrung).

Throughout the 17th century, these rooms were used by the rulers of Saxony as a private treasure chamber for important documents and jewellery.

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