[Ed Klein]

I will be visiting Prague, Vienna, and Budapest this summer. Does anyone know of museums or other venues that may contain more than the standard swords / armour / weapons?

[Andreas Auer]

Vienna "Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer" very impressive...

like this...http://www.khm.at/system2.html?/static/page145.html



Andreas Auer

[Craig Peters]

There's a few items to see in Prague castle's section on "The Story of Prague". Among other things, there's a suit of mail and a helm attributed to St Wenceslas, a sword or two from Viking period, as well as a couple knives and "daggers", and a ceremonial sword used at some of the coronations of the King of Bohemia. There's also a few antique items on display in the Gothic cellar at the Vyšehrad (the castle south of the Nové Město) including an axe head that looks like it might have been used in warfare. I can't say for sure about the musuem in the Nové Město; it has an archaeological section but it wasn't clear that there was medieval or Renaissance stuff there and since I was running out of time, I did not visit it. Other than that, I don't think there's much else to see. Prague is not a very good city for weapons and armour, though some of the other medieval items in Prague castle are outstanding, even if there aren't that many of them. I was just there between January 29th and February 3rd, so my information is about as up to date as you can get.

[Bryce Felperin]

[Edward Hitchens]

In Austria, there's a small town that dates back to the Medieval period called Riegersburg. Six-hundred feet above the town on a dormant volcano stands a castle that dates back to the 1100's, though it has been significantly renovated and added onto throughout the Renaissance. Of all the owners it's had, history elaborates mostly on 2 owners in particular -- both women. Elizabeth Kathariana von Galler (1608-1672) was one and the other was Kathariana Paldauf who lived around the same time; Paldauf was actually von Galler's servant. There's an article on this castle in the 44th issue of Renaissance magazine.

And if you're going to Vienna, you could try and see the Sword of St. Maurice there. It was the coronation sword of Holy Roman Emperors for over 800 years until World War One. As far as I know, it's still at the "Weltliches Schatzkammer" in the Imperial Treasury (one in the same place?).

[Mike Pospichal]

I can't recommend any arms/armor spots in Prague, but while you're there, it's definately worth it to stop and check out the cathedral of Saint Nicholas.

[Andrew Fox]

A worthwhile stop in Vienna is the Military History Museum (Heeresgeschichtliches Museum) on the outskirts of town. Not much in the way of medieval arms and armor, but quite a bit of 16th- and 17th-century material, and displays on the 30-Year's War and Turkish wars, etc. http://www.hgm.or.at/eng/