Danish national treasure recovered after theft
COPENHAGEN (AFP) — One of Denmark's national treasures, a set of two horns made in the 1800s, was recovered by police Tuesday after being stolen in the early hours of Monday, local television station TV2Syd reported.
Police inspector Steen Edeling told the station in the central town of Vejle that the horns had been found. He did not give any details, but a press conference was to be held in Vejle at 0800 GMT Wednesday.
Called "Guldhornene" in Danish, or the Golden Horns, the pieces are silver replicas of two original gold horns made in 400 AD which were stolen in 1802 and destroyed.
The replicas, with a thin gold coating, were on loan from the National Museum of Denmark for an exhibit in Jelling, near the central Danish town of Vejle, when they were stolen by thieves who smashed a display case.
Even though the works are replicas they are part of the country's cultural heritage, National Museum curator Carsten Larsen said.
The originals were discovered in the town of Gallehus in southern Denmark in 1639 before they went missing and were found again in 1734.
They were stolen in 1802 from the Royal Chamber of Art by an indebted jeweller, Niels Heidenreich, who melted the gold to make jewellery and counterfeit coins.
The horns are a national symbol known to all and have even inspired a famous poem penned by Danish writer Adam Oehenschlaeger.
