Violinist leaves $2.6 million Stradivarius on German train

[January 07, 2016]   BERLIN (Reuters) - An American violinist who left her $2.6 million 1727 Stradivarius in the luggage rack on a regional train in western Germany was "more than relieved", police said, when officers retrieved it one minute before it left the station.

The woman, who police described as being in her 20s, left the 'General Dupont Grumiaux' edition of the famous violin brand on a train traveling on Tuesday from Mannheim to Saarbruecken in western Germany, where she alighted.

Realizing her error after leaving the train, she alerted the police. One minute before the train heading back to Mannheim departed, police found the violin in the last section of the carriage concerned and returned it to the woman.

After checking that the instrument was not damaged, she was "more than relieved", police said in a statement.

(Writing by Paul Carrel; editing by Ralph Boulton)

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