Memory Monday (The Reichenthal Secret Vault)

 Apart from the return of the Crown Prince Imperial to Scotney and Britania (to be reported in detail next week), the most exciting news to happen over the last month or so was the very unexpected discovery of a secret, walled up room in the Castle of Reichenthal. This entirely unknown room was a surprise even to the Grand Duke of Reichenthal who grew up in the castle. The story has since gone viral as upon breaking open the room it revealed the largest single historic treasure ever documented. In today's post we finally report on this most dazzling story. 

It was early June in the small province of Reichenthal in the Kingdom of Syldavia.

The "magical" Castle of Reichenthal, official residence to the Elector Grand Duke Lothair and his family, was unexpectedly going to reveal what has become the most spectacular discovery of our age in the form of a treasure horde thought lost to history forever. Little did this peaceful and almost quaint region expect to be the epicenter of such a internationally pivotal twist in history. 

The Castle of Reichenthal is a veritable maze of halls, rooms, corridors and even secret passages and hidden vaults. It is also a very old castle with some parts dating back to over a 1000 years. It is understandable that maintenance and repairs pose a huge challenge as even plans of the castle are for some parts at best, speculation. Thus in a less used part of the castle a maintenance worker doing routine sonar scans  following plumbing in need of repair unexpectedly discovered a hidden walled up room. Upon the Grand Duke's orders the wall was breached to reveal an unimaginable treasure.

For the sake of historic account and possible legal logistics, the Grand Duke wisely called in an expert to witness the entering of the room and to also take meticulous account of its content, its value and historical connections. Princess Augusta, high profile Royal and world renowned antiques dealer was the perfect lady for the job and jumped to the opportunity to assist. 

The Grand Duke, as owner of the castle and legal custodian of the discovery under international law was the first to enter the room through the wall. 

Upon first glance it is clear that the treasure is of immense size and intrinsic value but far more important historical value. It seemed by virtue of the hasty masonry and some of the immediately recognizable artifacts that the treasure was stored during the time of the outbreak of the 96 Revolution in order to protect some of the artistic and historic treasures of Europa and even to hide some of the politically volatile pieces. Reichenthal has for centuries been the artisan capital of Europa and has been responsible over generations for the manufacture and repair of many of its historic artwork. As such at any given time pieces in the process of manufacture or maintenance was present in the Reichenthal workshops and during the advent of the Revolution may have been transported to safety in order to protect them from revolutionary destruction. This seems to be the case in point of this room and also the fact of its secrecy. Over a generation all memory was lost and it seems to be the fortune of this generation to have discovered it again.

One of the main features in the room is the solid oak throne with the very obvious insignia of the Three Headed Eagle of the United Empire of Scot-Britania. The throne was especially made for the coronation of Emperor Christian and Empress Crystobel in 1993 and must have been back in Reichenthal for basic maintenance at the time of the revolution. It is a discovery of vast historical impact and serves to accurately prove when the treasure room was sealed. An artifact such as the throne was at extreme risk of destruction during the time of the revolution in Scot-Britania and the consecutive civil war in Syldavia.  

It is clear from the state of the room that its content was hastily stored and walled in. Some chests were not even closed and reveals solid gold bullion and jewellery. 

This particular crown was recognized by the Grand Duke from his history lessons as being from the Reichenthalian Crown Jewel Collection and was thought lost during the Syldavian civil war that was sparked by the 96 Revolution. 

The room also contained art work such as this illuminated manuscript in calligraphy seemingly meant for the Duke of Swann.

A very large statuette of a peacock emblazoned with Venetian glass rhinestones stands as testament of Reichenthalian artwork at its finest. 

One of the many chests revealed a lapidary masterpiece in the form of a crystal swan. 

The swan being the symbol of the Dukes of Swann and a document of its commission and payment proves it as being the property of Swann and thus will be returned to its owner. 

A big part of the treasure is tantamount to bullion in the form of solid silver cutlery and goblets of no particular artistic or historic value. 

Vast amounts of solid silver plate and gold plate along with some rare Chinois crockery can be seen gathered together in this photo. 

The chests filled with jewellery are gathered for proper accounting and separate documentation and their content will be reported in a Tiara and Trinkets Tuesday of its own. 

This close up photo of the most historic and controversial part of the treasure, the Imperial Throne of Scot-Britania shows the awesome craftsmanship. It also raises the question of its now surely appreciated return to its homeland amidst all the current developments surrounding Royal popularity in Britania and Scotney.


The discovery of the treasure room and all its content is very exciting and seems to be provedence as a lost era is reconstructed before our eyes. Every single object is impossible to record on this blog but the jewellery will be documented. Other pieces of note will obviously be mentioned if and when they feature in future posts. We hope all our Royal fans enjoyed this post as much as we did here in the Duke of Swann's media office.