Zilkens'
News Blog

Zilkens' News Blog 36 2026

Sad news first – Carolin Scharpff-Striebich has lost her battle with cancer. She lent her strength and voice to many art initiatives, including the Kunstsammler e.V., the Ludwig Foundation and the Kunstfreunde in Bonn. We shall miss her reserved manner, coupled with her clear focus on what was essential. Our thoughts are with her family.

There has been a rise in thefts from museums once again – sometimes still in the classic style, via the rooftops of Nice, but also carried out brutally during opening hours. Most recently, the MAK in Vienna was targeted; years ago, the MAK in Cologne had been forced to change its name to MAKK due to the risk of confusion over the abbreviation, after two men – who, judging by the published photographs, could well have come from the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy – stole a diamond necklace from the Van Cleef & Arpels from a display case with 41 hammer blows and had kept the visitors at bay by brandishing a weapon. The insurance industry is bracing itself for a loss of approximately 5 million EUR. The individual stones are likely to fetch only a fraction of that on the market.

Vilnius – which we’ve just visited – also stands out for its very lean but efficient administration. A mere 1,100 people work there to manage the needs of 600,000 people. Of course, we don’t know which roles aren’t included in that figure – but a glance at Cologne, for example, is surely permitted, where some 25,000 people, with a sickness absence rate of over 10 per cent, manage the affairs of some 1.1 million people … – well, what exactly? – certainly cannot be said to make things any easier. But Cologne is not alone in this. We are over-regulated and over-administered. Housing construction is also expensive because the regulations on fire safety, climate protection, noise protection, environmental protection, energy conservation, animal welfare and whatever else may be deemed important more than triple processes and costs. Add to that the fantasies of expropriating private property, and it’s no wonder. Anyone who was in Halle an der Saale in 1990 knows what dilapidated, publicly-owned buildings look like, smell like and how they rot away. A prefabricated flat with thin walls was considered a blessing by comparison.

There’s plenty to experience in Helsinki: amongst other things, galleries that are open on Sundays and where DC Open takes place effortlessly every Sunday, and small delivery vehicles that bring you food without a human at the wheel. There are still plenty of Indians and Pakistanis riding around on electric bikes fitted with thick tyres to make deliveries, but their days are probably numbered. There are plenty of bunkers here too. 900,000 bunker places for 700,000 people in the city. Work on building the system began as early as 1950, when the Russians still had a strong presence in the city. And to this day, efforts to further develop safety measures for citizens have not ceased.

Looking ahead with a positive outlook benefits everyone and boosts morale.

With this in mind, I wish you a good start to the first week of September

Yours, Stephan Zilkens and the team at Zilkens Fine Art Insurance Broker GmbH in Solothurn and Cologne.