Authorities in the United Kingdom have agreed to return a book by 17th-century astronomer Galileo to the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. With an estimated value of $65,000, the volume is believed to be one of 94 rare books stolen last year from the library’s medieval collection.
The Associated Press reported November 28 that the agreement to return the book to Poland was the result of talks between Polish investigators and British authorities in London, according to prosecutor Malgorzata Wilkosz-Sliwa in the daily Rzeczpospolita.
A German court agreed in May to release 18 other confiscated books to Poland, but stipulated that they would have to be returned to Germany on request. That cache included priceless manuscripts by Mozart and Beethoven.
Posted December 4, 2000.