The Celtic Roman Museum in Manching, Upper Bavaria, was closed for almost six months after the great gold theft. It has been open again as usual since Tuesday. On the first day, however, the interest of the public remained manageable. The Manchinger Museum only announced the reopening at short notice last week.
On the night of November 22, 2022, strangers broke into the museum near Ingolstadt and stole the museum’s 3.7-kilogram, approximately 2,000-year-old gold treasure. The coin collection unearthed in Manching in 1999 was the largest Celtic gold find of the past century and the showpiece of the house.
Commercial value is in the millions
The pure material value was only estimated at around 250,000 euros, but the commercial value of the historical coins is in the millions. The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA) is still looking for the perpetrators. After the burglary, initially only the area of the museum where the special exhibitions are shown was opened.
The area where the pot of gold was once presented remains closed. Those responsible reported that how the showcases will be used in the future is still the subject of considerations by the Archaeological State Collection in Munich, the museum and its sponsors.
After the burglary, it became known that the museum was inadequately secured. The LKA had also criticized the security technology. The museum’s special-purpose association has not yet answered inquiries about safety deficiencies and the retrofitting of the technology.
