[MSN] Madonna stolen from Czech Republic found in Austria.

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Madonna stolen from Czech Republic found in Austria

Olomouc, North Moravia, July 8 (CTK) - The statue of the Virgin Mary with
the Infant Jesus which disappeared from a church in Cholin, North Moravia,
10 years ago, was discovered by Austrian police in an antique shop in
Vienna, the daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes today.

The statue, known as the Cholin Madonna, is the most precious artefact
stolen by the thieves in the Olomouc region in the 1990s, MfD writes. The
statue dates from the 1420s. Experts estimate its value at more than CZK 4
million. 

Information about the finding of was confirmed to the daily by Cholin priest
Josef Trtik. "It was at a Viennese antique dealer's where it was discovered
by the local police. According to to my information, the statue is now in
the court depository in Vienna," Trtik said.

Trtik now wants the statue to be returned to Central Moravia, where it was
stolen on July 10, 1996. It will be the task of the Culture Ministry, whose
spokeswoman said that the office had started the relevant talks.

If the statue is obtained, it may become an exhibit of the recently opened
Archdiocese Museum in Olomouc. It is not likely to return to the Cholin
church as it could be stolen there again, the daily says.

It is unclear how the statue got to the shop. However, Austria, Germany and
Italy are frequent destinations of stolen artefacts from the Czech Republic
in the 1990s. Detectives assume that many artefacts were acquired by private
collectors through the black market, the daily says.

(USD1 = 22.284 crowns)

http://www.praguemonitor.com/