Landeszeughaus
Encyclopedia
The Landeszeughaus, in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...

, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, is the largest existing original armoury in the whole world and attracts visitors from all over the world. It holds approximately 32,000 pieces of weaponry, tools, suits of armour for battle and ones for parades.

History

The Landeszeughaus was built from 1642 - 1645 by a tyrolean architect called Antonio Solar. Styria desperately needed such a large armoury to host a massive amount of weaponry and armour for the defence of styria against the invading Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. There was a defensive perimeter, 100 km south of Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...

 in nowadays Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

/Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 to defend styria against the Turks. The weapons stored in the Landeszeughaus were needed in order to equip the soldiers at this perimeter.

After about 100 years in use, Austrian empress Maria Theresia wanted to close down the armoury, because she centralised the defence of Austria. She wanted to bring all the weapons and armour to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. Nevertheless the Styrian Estates managed to plead for the ongoing existence of the Styrian Armoury and if not for active use at least as a symbol for their struggle against the Turks and also for their achievements in defending not only Styria but Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 alike.

Also World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 posed no real threat to the objects, because they were all brought into hiding to several castles around Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...

. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the objects were brought back into the luckily undamaged original building.

The Armoury is not only the largest original armoury in the whole world, it is also the oldest museum in Styria and became part of the so called Universalmuseum Joanneum in 1892.

Visitor information

The armoury is open seven days a week throughout the year. In winter, it can only be visited through guided tours.

The armoury is situated right in the city centre, a few steps from Hauptplatz in Herrengasse Nr. 16.
When arriving per train just take trams number 3 or 6 from main train station to the city centre and leave at station "Hauptplatz/Grazer Congress". Then just walk strait
into Herrengasse and after about 100m you will notice an antique cannon standing in front of a door on the right side. That's the main entrance to the armoury.
Alternatively you can also leave at station "Jakominiplatz" and walk back to Hauptplatz through Herrengasse.

External links

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