page_title: Litva Hoard
section_title: Discovery
hierarchical_section_title: Litva Hoard / Discovery
caption_attribution_description: fragment of a canvas painting of Jan Matejko about the Battle of Grunvald
context_page_description: Litva Hoard is a medieval treasure found in Litva village in Maladzyechna Raion, western Belarus. It was discovered in the early 1990s and contained a large number of Prague groschens and a large gilded silver belt. It is the largest Prague groschen hoard found in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They were minted in Kutná Hora during the reigns of John of Bohemia, Charles IV, and Wenceslaus IV. The ornate belt is an example of Islamic art and must have been a gift from the Crimean Khanate. It became known as the Belt of Vytautas because of speculations that it might have belonged to Grand Duke Vytautas though there is no direct evidence to support the claim.
context_section_description: The discovery was made under unclear circumstances in early 1990s. Scientists were not informed and individuals attempted to profit by selling off the findings. The belt became known to the scientific community in 1994 when a collector contacted Professor Valentin Ryabtsevich. The belt was inspected by experts from the Hermitage Museum who verified its authenticity and the belt was added to the registry of cultural heritage of Belarus. Belarusian museums did not have enough money to pay the asking price and the belt remained in private hands. Ryabtsevich inspected the site and found additional coins and belt pieces. One eyewitness claimed that there were, in fact, two belts; the second belt was reportedly smuggled to France and offered to the Hermitage Museum.
  Belarusian press began reporting on the Belt of Vytautas in March 2004. The belt was sold to a Russian firm which listed it with Paragis (Парагис) auction house in November 2005. The initial bid price was set at US$80,000. The item was not sold, possibly because as a registered item of cultural heritage of Belarus it cannot be transported outside of Belarus. The auction attracted further public attention and in 2006 the Supreme Court of Belarus ruled to nationalize the belt. It is now kept by the Belarusian National History Museum. It was exhibited at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in Vilnius in April–July 2015.
caption: Vytautas wearing a metal belt (fragment of Battle of Grunwald by Jan Matejko)
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