A cache of royal regalia was found in the Vilnius Cathedral (21 photos)

A unique find was made in the dungeons of the Vilnius Cathedral. A secret vault containing the burial regalia of the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland, including Barbara Radziwill, was discovered there.





“A vault was discovered where, most likely, in 1939, with the beginning of World War II, the royal regalia intended for the burial of the rulers of Lithuania and Poland — Alexander, Elizabeth and Barbara — were hidden,” the archbishop said.

The cache contained the crown of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander (1461-1506), the regalia of his mother Elizabeth of Habsburg (1436-1505) - the wife of the King and Grand Duke Casimir Jagiellon: a crown, a chain, a medallion, a ring and a plaque from the coffin.

In addition, the vault contained the crown, scepter, three rings, a chain and two plaques from the coffin of Barbara Radziwill (c. 1522-1551) - the wife of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Sigismund Augustus.







As Gintaras Grušas explained, crowns and other items were not used during the rulers' lifetime, they were made after their death and were intended for funeral ceremonies.

The burial vault of Alexander, Elizabeth and Barbara with insignia was found in the dungeons of the cathedral in 1931, but with the outbreak of World War II, in order to preserve the relics, they were hidden and walled up in another place. After Lithuania regained its independence, searches under the cathedral were carried out several times. First of all, they looked for the burial of Vytautas (it has not been found to this day). None of the attempts were successful until December 2024, when an examination of all possible cavities and cracks was undertaken using an endoscopic camera, based on interwar and modern drawings of the dungeons and eyewitness accounts. After several attempts, the vault was discovered.





"I am grateful to everyone who willingly participated in this search, and I am sincerely glad that these valuables were finally discovered thanks to the cooperation of several institutions. Now they will be studied, restored and presented to the public in the future. The discovered burial signs of the rulers of Lithuania and Poland are priceless historical values, symbols of the long-standing traditions of Lithuanian statehood, signs of Vilnius as the capital, and remarkable works of jewelry," the archbishop noted.