Waffenmuseum Suhl

The Waffenmuseum Suhl stands in the centre of Suhl, a town in Thuringia, inside the old Malzhaus beside the Lauter river. The building dates from 1668, rebuilt after the Thirty Years’ War to keep brewing safe from fire. Its three wings rest on continuous vaulted cellars, with a solid ground floor, timber upper storey and steep roof. After losing its brewing licence in the 19th century the house became eight flats and gained its present window front. In 1957 the left wing opened as a local history museum, and since 1971 the whole building has housed the city’s arms collection. The museum’s origins go back to 1908, when Mayor Paul Hagemeister called on Suhl’s gunmakers to donate pieces for a civic collection. The first display opened in two rooms above a boys’ school with about ten per cent of the objects being firearms. During the Second World War much of the collection was moved for safety to Kühndorf castle and some pieces were lost. After the war local enthusiasts reopened a small arms section in the Malzhaus, and in 1969 Suhler rifles returned from Leningrad’s artillery museum. In 1971 the building was converted into a specialist firearms museum ahead of the 1971 European shooting championships. By 1975 it was drawing up to 100 000 visitors a year, and by 1985 more than two million had passed through its doors. Inside, the exhibition spreads over three floors and traces almost 600 years of Suhl’s gun trade. Visitors follow the entire process from iron ore mining to the work of stockmakers, blacksmiths and engravers. More than 460 firearms and many other items are on show. One room explains Suhl’s porcelain industry between 1861 and 1930. The museum also displays works by local artists such as Rudolf Wiszkowski. Awarded the Thuringia museum seal in 2016, it remains one of Germany’s leading specialist arms museums.