Arms and Fortress Collection

The Arms and Fortress section of the National Museum of Archaeology, History and Art (Musée national d'archéologie, d'histoire et d'art - MNAHA) reflects the long military history of the City of Luxembourg, whose fortress was widely referred to as the 'Gibraltar of the North'. A bronze relief map, created by Captain Guillaume WEYDERT in 1903, shows how the fortifications looked before they were dismantled following the Treaty of London in 1867.

The Museum's collection includes:

• firearms;
• polearms (halberds, spontoons, partisans, etc.);
• artillery (howitzers, cannons, bombardes, portable cannons, bushes, culverins, etc.);
• edged weapons.

Although for centuries the City of Luxembourg was a very important stronghold, it was not known for the manufacture of armaments. The only significant name in this industry was the SCHWARTZ family of gunmakers, a trade passed down from father to son for 3 centuries (from the early 17th century until 1930).

Bladed weapons were not solely confined to use in the military arena, they were also used in civil life, and particularly in hunting. There is a sharp contrast between the knives and swords used for military operations and those weapons that are simply ceremonial, richly decorated in line with the fashion of the time. In turn, the firearms collection also illustrates how such weapons and the different mechanisms evolved over time (flintlock rifle, wheel-lock arquebus, percussion rifle, etc.).

During the 19th century, monarchies granted symbolic command of one of their regiments to foreign princes, who were then entitled to wear the uniform of the commander of the regiment in question. Granting these honorary commands became an outward symbol of the links between the different branches of European nobility. For example, there is a set of uniforms that belonged to Adolphe, the first Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1890-1903) and Grand Duke Guillaume (1905-1912) - the earliest of which date back to 1842-1846 - thus testifying to Luxembourg's links with Russia, Sweden, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Prussia.