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. There was a defensive perimeter, 100 km south of Graz in nowadays Croatia/Hungary 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. 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 alike.
Also World War II posed no real threat to the objects, because they were all brought into hiding to several castles around Graz. After World War II 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.
Read more about this topic: Landeszeughaus
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“To summarize the contentions of this paper then. Firstly, the phrase ‘the meaning of a word’ is a spurious phrase. Secondly and consequently, a re-examination is needed of phrases like the two which I discuss, ‘being a part of the meaning of’ and ‘having the same meaning.’ On these matters, dogmatists require prodding: although history indeed suggests that it may sometimes be better to let sleeping dogmatists lie.”
—J.L. (John Langshaw)
“Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we called it the word of a demon than the Word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.”
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809)
“Like their personal lives, women’s history is fragmented, interrupted; a shadow history of human beings whose existence has been shaped by the efforts and the demands of others.”
—Elizabeth Janeway (b. 1913)