Review clears MAK over diamond necklace robbery

An external review found no failings by Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in its security arrangements, response to the robbery of a historic diamond necklace or subsequent crisis management, ORF reported. The report was commissioned by the museum.

The 34-page assessment examined the robbery on August 27, 2026, when two perpetrators smashed a display case in the Glanzstücke exhibition and escaped with the valuable necklace. It concluded that the museum had met the applicable standards and requirements agreed with its partners. Metal detectors, which were introduced after the robbery, had not been required by those standards or by the partners.

The report said the museum had prioritised protecting people over objects, which is why it did not use a loud alarm or armed security guards. The direct alert to police and the building’s security control centre, activated shortly after 2 p.m., worked efficiently, as did the alert chain and the response of trained Securitas staff. The measures were intended to avoid direct confrontation with armed perpetrators and prevent an escalation such as panic or a hostage situation.

The museum had 185 cameras, hundreds of alarm sensors, special security glass and trained security staff, but the reviewers said a robbery carried out by professionals could not be prevented by reasonable means. They said a display case that would automatically lower an object when shaken would be justifiable only for crown jewels or items of comparable value. The case used for the necklace met the gold standard for comparable exhibitions.

MAK director-general Lilli Hollein said the museum had overhauled its crisis management two years ago, introduced a handbook with clear guidelines and held a large exercise earlier this year. She said the preparations had proved effective during the robbery. Of the 104 people in the exhibition at the time, most were evacuated without panic or dangerous contact with the fleeing perpetrators.

Hollein said the robbery had been professionally prepared and carried out with speed and violence, and that reasonable security measures could not have prevented it. The museum was working with experts and other federal museums to review security while remaining accessible to visitors, she said.