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Friday 2, June

Lost and found: €100,000 violin stolen from ICE returned to owner

Police tracked the missing expensive violin lost on a ICE train from Berlin down to a woman living in Mannheim.

Photo: Imago / Evgeny Dubinchuk / Design Pics

Friday 2, June

Lost and found: €100,000 violin stolen from ICE returned to owner

After the valuable instrument was reported missing, however, police checked the security footage

What’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever forgotten on the train? A couple of weeks ago, a woman travelling from Berlin to Stuttgart was left rueing her forgetfulness after she left a precious violin worth more than €100,000 on an ICE train. Now, though, she will be thanking her lucky stars as police contacted her this week to say they had recovered the instrument – made in the 17th century by a master craftsman in Italy – from a woman living in Mannheim.

The woman stole the precious violin as it made the return journey from Stuttgart back to Berlin, stashing the instrument in a larger bag to conceal it. After the extremely valuable instrument was reported missing, however, police checked the security footage and were able to identify the thief.

🎻 17th century violin lost on Berlin train

So, what’s the moral of the story? Maybe only that, if you’re going to steal something on a train, don’t go chasing handcrafted antique instruments: stick to coffees and newspapers from 1st class.