This year’s first temporary exhibition at Špilberk Castle, “Treasures of Špilberk Armoury”, will open to visitors from 17 March until 31 December 2022. This exhibition will present weapons and armour from the Middle Ages which have never been seen before. Photo credit: KB / Brno Daily
Brno, March 15 (BD) – Opening the collections to the public is the goal of the new exhibition of the Brno City Museum at Špilberk Castle. Visitors will have a unique opportunity to see objects hidden from the public eye until now, such as weapons and armour from the Middle Ages, the story of the Brno Armed Burgher and Rifle Corps and rare and decorative weapons, along with examples of the work of Brno gunsmiths. The exhibition, “Treasures of Špilberk Armoury”, will be open to visitors from 17 March till 31 December 2022.
Radim Dufek, the curator of the exhibition and the manager of the military collection, decided to create an exhibition focusing on weapons and armour, as the objects most historically linked to the castle. “Špilberk, as a medieval castle and later a Baroque fortress, has always hosted a military garrison within its walls, whether during the Middle Ages, during the siege of Brno by the Swedes, or during the Second World War, when the German Wehrmacht troops were stationed in its premises,” said Dufek.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”486″ gal_title=”Exhibition weapons Špilberk”]The exhibition is called “Treasures of the Špilberk Armoury” because it features the best pieces from the Brno City Museum’s collection of military equipment. Photo credit: Špilberk Castle
The exhibition is divided into three parts in terms of space and themes. The Gothic Hall offers objects from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Thirty Years’ War, including the armament of a musketeer and also ancient weapons from archaeological finds. Another part of this exhibition focuses on the history, the present and especially the armament of the Brno Armed Burgher and Rifle Corps founded in 1798. There are preserved personal weapons, artefacts of the corps members, and wax figures in the historical uniforms of the corps. The final part of the exhibition presents the most interesting and original weapons from the museum’s collection and also exhibits the works of Brno gunsmiths.
“We started preparatory work on the exhibition long ago last year, when none of us knew that Ukraine would be resisting Russian conquest. Our exhibition of historical weapons can therefore be a symbol that weapons belong in a museum. The exhibition is designed for both young and old and shows a certain historical overview,” added Zbyněk Šolc, director of the Brno City Museum.
