Amber & Jewellery

The Amber Room

In the 17th century amber was found on the banks of Vistula River. There was a high demand for amber among Jewish tradesmen which was motivating people to search further. Amber resources were found in several locations, e.g. near Plock, Modlin or Ostroleka. Numerous amber mines were open.

In the 19th century the machines for amber cutting and polishing were introduced. Only Kurpians still worked on amber manually. Their hand-made works of art were a sensation on a Paris exhibition in 1878.

Germans loved amber but their passion was unfortunate for others. Amber craftsmanship in Kurpie was completely destroyed during World War I.

In the late 60s of the 20th century big resources of amber were found in Poland by accident. They were explored illegally with special pumps.

Nowadays the biggest amber resources that are still in use are located in the area of the Sambia Peninsula in Russia.