May 6 (Bloomberg) -- A medieval processional cross that was looted from Poland by the Nazis and discovered decades later in an Austrian rubbish bin has been returned to the heirs of the countess who owned it before the war.

The Limoges enamel cross was part of the Dzialynska collection at Goluchow Castle in Poland, according to the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, a London-based organization which helps families recover pilfered property. The cross features enameled plaques with images of the crucifixion and the apostles.

``I am delighted by the recovery of a precious piece from this once magnificent collection, which we hope to reconstitute in its own building in Poland one day,'' Adam Zamoyski, one of the heirs, said in a statement today from the commission.

Countess Isabella Dzialynska collected thousands of works of art in the second half of the 19th century, including paintings antiquities, medieval and Renaissance enamels, jewelry and silver, the statement said. The family transported the most valuable items from Goluchow, which was close to the German border, to Warsaw in 1939. The Nazis found them and seized them in 1941.

On Hitler's orders, the treasures were moved to Castle Fischhorn in Zell am See in Austria, where they were looted again as the war ended. Attempts by the family to recover them after the conflict were unsuccessful.

Then in 2004, Lydia Gruber, a resident of Zell am See, discovered the cross lying in a skip filled with the discarded possessions of an elderly neighbor. Last year, a friend of hers took the cross to a local museum for evaluation and investigations by the Salzburg police identified the rightful owners.

Zamoyski promised a reward to anyone who helps recover other items of the collection.

``The heirs are very grateful to Mrs. Gruber,'' Anne Webber, co-chair of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, said in a statement. ``We hope that news of this recovery will bring about the discovery of other precious items from the collection which may be in the area.''

To contact the writer on this story: Catherine Hickley in Berlin at chickley@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 6, 2008 08:10 EDT