It has gone down in history as a night to remember.

On 2:30 am on the morning April 15, 1912 the Titanic went to its watery grave, taking 1,517 people along with it in one of history's deadliest maritime disasters.

One hundred years later, this tragedy still fascinates the world.

That fascination will likely grow in April of 2012, when more than 5,000 artifacts from the doomed shipwreck go up for auction. But bidding on this bit of history comes with a catch.

According to a court ruling, the treasure trove valued at US$189 million must stay together.

The auction's lucky winner must also take on the task of being the collection's steward and preserving it, and the ship's remains, for future generations.

"There are no limitations on who the buyer may be or where that buyer will come from. They can come from the United States, Canada, anywhere," said Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey's Auctioneers & Brokers in New York.

"But the current owners believe that this is the correct thing to do," Ettinger told CTV's Canada AM on Friday

"Future generations should be able to view these materials and understand and be fascinated by them."

The Titanic was the world's largest and most luxurious ship when it set sail from Southampton, England, on April 10, 1912, for New York.

That luxury is clearly reflected in these items that were retrieved from a 20 km area of debris around the site where the ship sank after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic on the night of April 14, 1912.

The items up for grabs at April's auction include a bounty of small, personal items such as reading glasses and clothing. Bidders will also find everything from gold coins, perfectly preserved demitasse cups and saucers, as well as an actual piece of the ship's 17-tonne hull.

"Nothing has been touched from the ship. The ship itself is viewed as sacred," said Ettinger.

This won't be the first auction of Titanic memorabilia. But it will be the first auction of items taken directly from the wreckage site. In fact, 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the recovery of the first artifacts from the sea floor.

Previous sales featured items such as a recovered deck chair, letters written by survivors, and the advertising brochures that White Star Line produced in advance of Titanic's first, doomed voyage.

None of those sales, however, came close to what the April auction could fetch.