Culture Minister Demeter Andras expressed satisfaction at the recovery of the iconic Geto-Dacian Cotofenesti golden helmet and two gold bracelets, stressing that the amount to be returned to the Dutch side will be determined only after the restoration of the artifacts is completed.
"It's a victory, it's a joy. It's what I hoped for. From the first days, I was confident in the determination of the Dutch authorities, and I was not wrong," Demeter Andras told AGERPRES.
He explained that the procedure in such cases is standard.
"A joint commission of Romanian and Dutch experts must verify the authenticity and condition of the objects. We now know, as announced, that the helmet suffered very minor damage, which can be easily repaired. After this assessment, the goal is repatriation. Only then, depending on the restoration costs - which may be deducted from the insurance - the amount received will be returned. Everything step by step," the minister said.
The recovered Cotofenesti golden helmet and two of the three Dacian gold bracelets stolen last year from the Drents Museum in the Netherlands have been handed over to the Romanian authorities, the Dutch Prosecutor's Office announced on Thursday.
The Cotofenesti helmet and the three bracelets were part of the exhibition Dacia - Land of Gold and Silver, displayed last year at the Drents Museum in Assen. In January 2025, just days before the exhibition was to close and the artifacts returned to the National Museum of History in Bucharest, three men blew open a rear entrance to the museum and stole the four Romanian items within minutes. Several suspects were arrested in the months following the robbery.
In September 2025, the Romanian Ministry of Culture announced it had received 5.7 million euros in insurance compensation for the four cultural assets stolen from the Drents Museum.
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