Bečov nad Teplou celebrates rediscovery of St Maur shrine

The West Bohemian town of Bečov nad Teplou on Saturday celebrated the 30th anniversary of the rediscovery of the Shrine of St. Maur, a magnificent gold plated and jewelled ark that was rediscovered at Bečov castle in 1985. The American who played a crucial part in the shrine’s rediscovery, Danny Douglas, was present at the celebrations on Saturday. Douglas was contracted by the Belgian noble family that owned the medieval shrine and buried it under floorboards at the castle chapel when they were forced to quit the country in 1945, to recover it. But a slip up allowed the Communist era secret police to get to the treasure first. Douglas told Radio Prague that he is expecting full official recognition as the finder by Czech authorities by the end of the year.