The Armoury (german: Zeughaus) in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

, Austria, is a former military

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

that is now a museum. It lies in the Innsbruck quarter of Dreiheiligen.

History

Maximilian I had the Armoury built from 1500 to 1505 on the Sill which was then in front of the gates of the town. It consists of two 80 x 10 m, two-storey wings and two narrow gatehouses and blocks that surround a large inner courtyard. Materiel for war was stored here and, around the Armoury, were subsidiary buildings. As well as

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

, many

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

were also stored here. In 1503 a brass foundry was built in Mühlau. Crucial to the choice of location was the site of the city of Innsbruck as a transport hub and the thriving copper mines of Tyrol, which had given rise to a flourishing arms industry in Innsbruck. In 1503 housed the armory about 150 guns Until the end of the monarchy in 1918 the place was still in use as the Armoury Barracks (''Zeughauskaserne''). It was restored in 1964/1969 and opened in 1973 as the Tyrolean State History Museum (''Tiroler Landeskundliches Museum'').

Museum

Today a branch of the

Tyrolean State Museum The Tyrolean State Museum (german: Tiroler Landesmuseum), also known as the Ferdinandeum after Archduke Ferdinand, is located in Innsbruck, Austria. It was founded in 1823 by the Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum Society (''Verein Tiroler Lande ...

is housed in the Armoury. It offers a historical and technical collection of the cultural history of Tyrol from the early period to its most recent history. The museum puts on special exhibitions that change periodically. In summer the inner courtyard hosts open-air cinemas and concerts.

Sources

* Hartwig Neumann: ''Das Zeughaus. Die Entwicklung eines Bautyps von der spätmittelalterlichen Rüstkammer zum Arsenal im deutschsprachigen Bereich vom XV. bis XIX. Jahrhundert. 2 Bde''. Koblenz 1990/91.

External links

Official web presence of the Tyrolean State Museum
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