Skip to main content

Marfeldt Photography

True crime · 1987

The stolen Moses of St Michael's Swedish Church

During the Second World War the furnishings of St Michael's Swedish Church in Tallinn's Old Town were evacuated, and in 1983 they reached the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia. The museum depot had a single night watchman. In 1987 thieves broke in, and among their loot was the statue of Moses that held up the church pulpit. In February 2015 an owner brought a wooden figure for an expert to assess, believing it was by Amandus Adamson. Heritage inspector Linda Lainvoo matched it to a pre-war photograph. The paint had been stripped, and a bullet from a German Mauser rifle, probably fired in 1944, was found inside. Moses is back in the church.

Open it on the map See the spot on the old maps and as it is today

Eesti keeles

Teise maailmasõja ajal evakueeriti Tallinna vanalinnas asuva Rootsi-Mihkli kiriku sisustus ja 1983. aastal jõudis see Eesti Kunstimuuseumi kogudesse. Muuseumihoidlat valvas üksainus öövaht. 1987. aastal murdsid vargad sisse ja saagi hulgas oli Moosese kuju, mis oli kantslit kandnud. 2015. aasta veebruaris tõi üks omanik puuskulptuuri eksperdile hindamiseks, uskudes, et see on Amandus Adamsoni töö. Muinsuskaitse peainspektor Linda Lainvoo tundis selle ära sõjaeelse foto järgi. Värv oli maha võetud ja kuju seest leiti Saksa Mauseri püssi kuul, mis oli tõenäoliselt tulistatud 1944. aastal. Mooses on nüüd kirikus tagasi.

Map of the area around The stolen Moses of St Michael's Swedish Church
59.43496° N, 24.74229° E · Map: Maa- ja Ruumiamet

Source: Postimees: 'Stolen statue was found 28 years later', 19 December 2016 ↗

More stories nearby

Stay or walk nearby

Translate »