Baltic Amber
From the Amber Road to the Amber Room, amber has been a geological identifier for Eastern and Central Europe.
Amber is one of Eastern Europe's most popular semi-precious stones. Made of tree resin, it has been a coveted object of trade as well as part of a lost treasure.
Baltic amber is fossilized tree resin (not tree sap, as many people mistakenly believe) 30-90 million years old. Amber is typically golden in color, but can also be yellow, red, or green and can be opaque or translucent. It sometimes features inclusions – like insects or plant matter – that were trapped in the tree resin during the hardening process. Baltic amber has been found in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belorus, Poland, and some parts of Western Europe. Because 80-90 percent of the world’s amber comes from the Baltic region, amber has become a symbol of Eastern and Central Europe.
Amber was probably first discovered washed up on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Later, as amber gained value for its rarity and beauty, amber was deliberately fished for using nets. When Baltic amber began to be seen as a commodity, a north-south route was developed for the purpose of trading amber.
The Amber Room, a room created of panels covered with amber and amber decorations, is one of the most famous testaments to amber’s beauty. Originally created in Prussia in the 18th century, it was later gifted to Peter the Great. It finally found a home in the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg.
However, during WWII, the panels of the Amber Room were removed and they disappeared after the German invasion. To this day, no one knows the location of the panels, and many theories have circulated around their location. Some sources have even pointed to evidence that they may have been destroyed.
Reconstruction of the Amber Room was completed in 2003. Artists used photographs from the original room to recreate the Amber Room at the Catherine Palace.
