A "great treasure" from the 1600s was found in the German church where Martin Luther preached

A "great wealth" was found in a Gothic German church where the famous priest and reformer Martin Luther preached. The gold and silver coins were hidden around 1640.

In total, four small bags of money were found. Interestingly, the treasure was carefully packed inside a statue standing in the church, LiveScience reports.

Restorers of a famous Gothic church in Germany have come across a valuable find. Researchers suggest that the coins were hidden in the statue's leg during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). According to historians, during this conflict, Swedish soldiers often plundered this German region. So someone decided to hide the coins from thieves.

Ulf Draeger, curator and head of the State Mint of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany, called the discovery "an incredible story." After all, it was in this church of St. Andrew in Eisleben that Martin Luther, who wrote the Ninety-Five Theses against corruption in the Roman Catholic Church, delivered his last four sermons in 1546.

About 100 years after that, in 1640, someone used the church as a safe haven to hide their treasure. Four "bulging pouches" containing 816 coins were stuffed into the statue's cavity, Dreger noted.

"It's nothing short of a miracle that the treasure was not found earlier. Experts will analyze the coins. At the moment, I can say that this is a huge fortune. Much more than an artisan could earn in a year," he added.

The researchers note that the cache contained a gold coin known as the "golden angel," gold ducats and double ducats, silver coins and hundreds of kopecks.

Historians know that since 1561, Eisleben has had an "Aerarium Pastorale" - a general parish fund that was used as a pension and health fund, as social insurance for pastors, and to promote the training of theologians. "Perhaps this fund is now in front of us. Historical research will show this," the German scholar said.

According to Ulf Dreher, the loss of such a treasure was a tragedy at the time. "This makes the discovery very important not only for Eisleben, but also for the history of Saxony-Anhalt in the heart of Europe," he emphasized.

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