"In Lower Silesia, everyone has always been hiding something," Joanna Lamparska, journalist, researcher of the region's history and author of several books about its treasures, begins her story. "After World War II, the last of many conflicts that have swept through this region, there is still plenty to discover."

For Nazi Germany, Lower Silesia was supposed to be a refuge and a safe haven. However, history took a different turn. "Until 1945, Lower Silesia was German and the Germans never imagined that they could lose it," explains Lamparska. Even when the borders changed after the war and the region became part of Poland, they were convinced that their absence would only be temporary. When they found out that they had two days to pack and to place all their belongings in a suitcase, they hid what they could not take, hoping they would soon be back. They buried jars of lard, china, silverware, typewriters, phonographs and clothing in hiding places around the house. Recently a friend of mine found two gold bars while dismantling an old stove in his house."

Countless caves, tunnels, pits and mines of Lower Silesia, as well as castles and palaces with cavernous dungeons, offered a good hiding place for larger and more valuable items. The mission to secure the treasures against the advancing forces was vested in the Lower Silesian heritage conservation officer, Günther Grundmann. It was he who collected museum exhibits, as well as items from churches, archives and libraries from Breslau (now Wrocław), the capital of Lower Silesia. 160 private collectors from Lower Silesia also responded to Grundmann’s appeals, depositing paintings, sculptures, prints, furniture, etc. in his care. Grundmann hid the deposit in 80 different places and drew up an encrypted list of these items. (It is believed, however, that not all hiding places had been listed.)

The works of art from Polish museums, which the Germans methodically robbed, were also hidden in Lower Silesia. Among them were drawings by Albrecht Dürer and paintings by Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Rubens, and Canaletto. After the war, they were sought by the restitution committee of the Polish Ministry of Culture and Art, led by Professor Stanisław Lorentz, director of the National Museum in Warsaw.

"Unfortunately, before the committee arrived in Lower Silesia, the Russian army had marched through the region and looted Grundmann’s deposits, as well as the appropriated Polish collections," continues Joanna Lamparska. "For instance, Stańczyk, a painting by Jan Matejko, the most outstanding representative of Polish historical painting style, was found in the palace in Zagórze Śląskie and sent to Moscow, where it remained until 1968. For 23 years it was one of our many lost treasures."

Professor Lorentz’s team managed to recover part of the collection. A great success was the discovery of large-format paintings by Matejko, Rejtan, Batory at Pskov and The Union of Lublin, in a restaurant in Przesieka near Jelenia Góra. In the middle of 1945, about one hundred trucks loaded with works of art looted from Polish museums left German warehouses in Świdnica, Prudnik and Duszniki-Zdrój and headed to Krakow. They contained merely a small part of the stolen collections. The most famous work plundered by the Nazis and not found to this day is Raphael’s Portrait of a Young Man, property of the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow.

"One legend that is still alive in Lower Silesia to this day is about six tons of gold that the Germans transported out of Wrocław and hid somewhere here," says Lamparska. It was such a stirring idea that in the 1980s Polish authorities ordered an official search for the gold by the army. Alas, to no avail. Another two "gold trains" are said to be hidden under the Sobiesz mountain near Piechowice and near Wałbrzych, respectively. The latter has recently become a global sensation.

Where else in Lower Silesia could treasures be possibly hidden? "Topping the list of possible hiding places are the Owl Mountains, where new large tunnels are being discovered to this day, and the Książ Castle in Wałbrzych, where valuable book collections could be hidden," lists Lamparska. "Then we have the Cistercian monastery in Lubiąż, a giant complex that has been shrouded in mystery for years, and manors with large parks, i.e. the Valley of Palaces and Gardens. And finally there is Ślęża, the sacred mountain of the Slavs, a magical place that still attracts treasure hunters."

The underground structures built during World War II kindle the imagination of explorers. The largest of these structures were built in the Owl Mountains and under the Książ Castle, where between 1943-1945 the Nazis constructed huge chambers, bunkers and shelters connected by miles of tunnels so called Project Riese, which they failed to finish.) The purpose of the Project is still not entirely clear. According to the most popular theories, it was built to contain Hitler's headquarters, underground weapons factories, chemical laboratories and a hiding place for valuable deposits. Entrances to the complex still exist in many locations, such as the slopes of the Włodarz, Osówka, Soboń, or Gontowa mountains and in the Książ Castle. Before the Red Army entered the area, many underground rooms had been destroyed and the tunnels leading to them had been blown up. Part of the preserved underground structures can be visited, for instance through the Walim Mineshaft Museum, other parts have been closed. Nevertheless, many people choose to explore the complex on their own.

"In order to locate potential hiding places, explorers mainly use old maps, such as waterworks or rail network maps," says Lamparska. "They also scan the ground with proton magnetometers and ground-penetrating radars, but it requires vast experience and a trained eye. Typical findings in Lower Silesia include buckles, buttons, coins, rings, which can be found with the use of an ordinary detector."

NELLY KAMIŃSKA