Last week, we had the opportunity to visit the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe in Dresden in the evening during the symposium ‘Security of Museums, Exhibition Halls and Archives’.

Seeing the recovered jewels, estimated to be worth over 100 million euros, up close was very impressive. Many of the pieces remained under lock and key during the trial of the perpetrators. According to our museum guide, it was then decided not to restore the valuable pieces immediately, but to put them back on display so that they would not be denied to the public any longer. However, it was very distressing to see some of these works of art broken or with clearly missing pieces.

During the tour, however, we found the security technology almost as interesting as the jewels themselves. As we searched for glass break detectors, laser scanners, cameras, showcase detectors and object security devices and discussed them, the security staff quickly noticed our particular interest. We found that watchful eyes are more than appropriate in this location. We then explained honestly that we were looking at the technology out of professional curiosity (in our case, from the perspective of a security technology company) and not because we wanted to break in ourselves. Whether we were convincing... 

The two-day conference of the German Forum for Crime Prevention (DFK) focused not only on the far-reaching innovations of the VdS Museum Guideline 3511, but also repeatedly addressed the need to understand security concepts as a process that requires flexible adjustments. It was clearly demonstrated how external circumstances can suddenly make a building accessible, for example when trees or Christmas market stalls allow access to areas that are normally closed off. The break-in at the Louvre also served as a topical example in many places of the need to think dynamically about security measures.

Anyone who would like to delve deeper into the topic of ‘Security Technology in Museums’ in November can find the programme for the VdS symposium in Berlin here.

The photo is from the digital panoramic tour on the website of the Dresden State Art Collections. (Photos were not allowed during the tour, of course.)

Special security technology for museums and galleries can be found here.