Weaponry, Hunting, Garden Culture

The exhibition of historical weaponry comprises objects from the High Middle Ages to the 18th century. A broad spectrum is featured, from the smallest miniature pistols to imposing cannon barrels. Also on show are items from the world of knights, well-armed townspeople and mercenaries. Tournament and battle equipment, batons, thrust weapons and early firearms, along with ballistic instruments and rare models of canons and a wagon fort from the 17th century, provide an impressive picture of the craft of weaponry in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age. Related aspects of courtly life are represented by items from pyrotechnics and hunting culture. The museum displays not only magnificent hunting weapons and utensils, but also trophies, pyrotechnic equipment and items for festivities such as the carousel – races in carriages or sleighs. The vibrant collection of elaborately decorated sleighs can be seen in this context. The splendid vehicles with figurative decoration are testament to the illustrious conviviality of the nobility and aristocracy in the Baroque Age.

Gardens were the setting for numerous festivities in the Early Modern Age, and sculptures were an important design feature of these artificial landscapes. The collection includes examples of Baroque fashion for gnomes as well as a number of allegorical figures. The life-size representations of the seasons and antique gods were made by Ferdinand Tietz, one of the most important southern German Baroque sculptors. Animal forms and arrangements of stone garden furniture, along with the concert group of multiple figures, offer an insight into the high-spirited world of the nobility in the second half of the 18th century. Bozzetti – small sculptural models – also give an impression of how these sculptures were created.