Landeszeughaus

Museum Graz, Austria

The Styrian Armory (German: Landeszeughaus), in the Austrian city of Graz, is the largest historic armory in the world and attracts visitors from all over the world. It contains about 32,000 pieces of weapons, tools, armor for battle and those for parades. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, Styria was at the forefront of almost continuous conflict with the Ottoman Empire and with rebels in Hungary. To defend itself, it needed troops, and these troops needed equipment. The Styrian Armory arose from the resulting need to store large quantities of armor and weapons and was built between 1642 and 1645 by a Tyrolean architect named Antonio Solar. After about 100 years, the Austrian Empress Maria Theresia wanted to close the armory, as part of her centralization of Austria's defence. However, Styria petitioned for the armory's ongoing existence for both practical and sentimental reasons. Their petition was granted and the Armory remained intact, but largely decommissioned. During World War II, the entire contents were safely moved to three castles in remote parts of Styria, and no losses were recorded. After the end of the war, the objects were moved back to the original building intact.