Treasure biographies
The Hoen Hoard
The Hiddensee Hoard
Political events
The Swedish Empire loses Finland
The Swedish Empire loses Finland
Norway becomes independent
from the Kingdom of Denmark
Gold hoard found on the
Hoen farm (Norway)
First publication of the Hoen Hoard
(Latin, Norwegian)
The Hoen Hoard joins the
University of Christiania (Oslo)
collection
Denmark becomes a
constitutional monarchy
The collection goes on display in the new
university building in Christiania (Oslo)
Founding of the
German Reich
Until 1874: 16 items of gold jewellery found on the island
of Hiddensee (northern Germany) and sold to
the Provincial Museum for New Western Pomerania
and Rügen in Stralsund
The Hoen Hoard is exhibited in Christiania (Oslo)
as evidence of Scandinavian ties with the
Near East and the Frankish Kingdom
The Hiddensee Hoard is exhibited at the
“Exhibition of prehistoric and anthropological
finds in Germany” in Berlin as 10th-century
Scandinavian gold jewellery
Costume jewellery and exact
replicas of the Hiddensee Hoard
manufactured by Paul Telge, Berlin
From 1904 the Hoen Hoard is the highlight
of the new Viking-age hall in
Christiania (Oslo) Historical Museum
Dissolution of the union
between Sweden and Norway
Beginning of World War I
Permanent exhibition of the Hiddensee Hoard
in Stralsund’s city hall as an isolated highlight
among paintings, porcelain, and hand axes
End of World War I
1920s onwards miniature replicas of the Hiddensee
Hoard manufactured by the goldsmith’s workshop
Stabenow of Stralsund and others
Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor
of the Reich in Germany
Spring: First comprehensive publication
of the Hiddensee Hoard by Peter Paulsen,
ideologically appropriating the jewellery
as “Germanic”
1. to 16. August: Summer
Olympic Games in Berlin
August: During the Olympic Games, a replica
of the Hiddensee Hoard is exhibited in the Berlin
exhibition Germany as an example of culture
from the Gau (administrative district) of Pomerania
From autumn onwards: Exhibition of the replica
Hiddensee Hoard in Stralsund Museum as
a product of the Viking Age that allegedly
proves Germanic supremacy in the Baltic region
Beginning of World War II
Early October: Evacuation of the Hoen Hoard
to a bank vault in rural Norway
9 April 1940: Occupation of Norway
by the German Wehrmacht
Evacuation of the original
Hiddensee Hoard to Szczecin
(returned and buried before
the end of the war)
Allied victory over Nazi Germany.
End of World War II.
Founding of UNESCO
The Hiddensee Hoard is dug up, confiscated
by the Russian Kommandatura, and later
returned to the city of Stralsund
Founding of West and
East German republics
(FRG and GDR)
October: The original Hiddensee Hoard
is exhibited for the first time in 15 years
as the highlight of Stralsund Museum
Parts of the Hoen Hoard go on display in Paris and Brussels
as products of a shared European culture. They appear in the
exhibition “Norwegian art from the Viking Age to the 18th century”
Founding of the European
Economic Community (EEC)
For security reasons, the Hoen Hoard is exhibited
in a lockable treasure room at the Oslo
Historical Museum – as one treasure among many,
no longer as a highlight of the Viking Age
The Berlin Wall is built
1962–1975 Annual exhibition of
the original Hiddensee Hoard at
the Ostseewoche, an East German
propaganda event in Stralsund
Neck ring from the Hoen Hoard exhibited in the diplomatic
exhibition “Norway and the Soviet Union” in Oslo
A replica Hiddensee Hoard is given as a gift to
Erich Honecker, the leader of East Germany (GDR)
An exhibition in Stralsund commemorating the “30th
anniversary of the liberation from fascism” focuses on the
alleged “rescue”of the Hiddensee Hoard by the Soviet
occupation forces after World War II
Parts of the Hoen Hoard are exhibited as examples
of Viking-age art in the exhibition “The Vikings” in
London, New York, and Minneapolis
The original Hiddensee Hoard is displayed abroad
for the first time in a diplomatic exhibition in Stockholm:
“Art treasures from northern East Germany”
The original Hiddensee Hoard
is exhibited for the first time since 1975
as the highlight of Stralsund Museum
The original Hiddensee Hoard
is soiled during the making of
casts for replica production
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Hiddensee Hoard is cleaned
in a workshop in Mainz
Early 1990s discovery of a replica Hiddensee Hoard alleged
to have belonged to Erich Mielke, former East German Minister
for State Security. It is purchased by Stralsund Museum
Until 1993. The Hoen and Hiddensee Hoards feature in the exhibition
“From Viking to Crusader. The Scandinavians and Europe 800–1200”
in Paris, Berlin, and Copenhagen. Both hoards are presented as evidence
of early Scandinavian relations with the rest of Europe
Founding of the European Union
Publication of the first recent
monograph on the Hoen Hoard
Publication of the first recent
monograph on the Hiddensee Hoard
since that by Peter Paulsen in 1936
Until 2015. The original Hiddensee Hoard is displayed in Copenhagen,
London, and Berlin in the exhibition “The Vikings” as a status symbol of
Denmark’s Viking-age power elite and its international connections
Since 2015 The original Hiddensee Hoard is permanently on show in
Stralsund Museum, embedded within the prehistory section but
presented in isolation with a focus on aesthetics
Since 2019 The Hoen Hoard is on show in the “Víkingr”
exhibition at Oslo Museum of Cultural History; the display
makes reference to the international provenance of
the objects, but with a focus on their aesthetic value
The Honecker replica of the Hiddensee Hoard
is acquired by Förderverein Stralsund Museum e.V.
Digital exhibition of both the Hoen and Hiddensee Hoards in
“Treasure Politics since 1800” – Digitalisation offers new
opportunities for (digitally) appropriating cultural heritage
independently of the museums that own the items
