Zeughaus (Arsenal) (Innsbruck)

 museum, interesting place

www.tiroler-landesmuseum.at/html.php/en/zeughaus/index....

The Zeughaus (Arsenal) presents itself as a house of Tyrolean cultural history. In chronological order, visitors are taken on a journey through the history of the region, which starts with prehistoric finds and then leads through illustratively presented chapters such as silver mining, salt extraction, the Tyrolean rebellion of 1809, tourism, and the two World Wars.


FROM AN ARMOURY TO A MUSEUM

In 1490, the Roman King and then Emperor Maximilian I became the Sovereign Prince of Tyrol, following Sigismund, Archduke of Austria. He realised that the County of Tyrol was a hub of European politics and the starting point for various military campaigns. After armed conflicts with Switzerland (1499), Maximilian decided to build several armouries or arsenals [German: Zeughaus] in Tyrol.

In the course of the 15th century, hired mercenaries—also referred to as lansquenets—took the place of feudal armies of knights. They were given the weapons that were stored in the arsenals in times of peace.

That was the main reason why Maximilian had a new arsenal built in the undeveloped Kohlstatt area between the Sill river and the Sill canal from 1500 to 1503/1506. The famous, but feared artillery of the emperor was stored in the vast halls on the ground floor, whereas the other military equipment was located on the upper floor. By the way, the German word “Zeug” is now used in the sense of “stuff”, but used to mean “equipment”, or “utensils”.