Crossbow Exhibition in Berlin

[J.S.]

"The Crossbow - Terror and Beauty". Crossbows from the collections of the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin. Despite all post-war losses, the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin owns one of the most important crossbow collections. The impressive and very valuable pieces, such as the crossbow of Emperor Maximilian I. (1459 - 1519), date from the 15th to the 19th century. Even there are shown a lot of accessories like cranequins, bolts and quivers. The Museum presents the weapons development and its societal functions. Crossbows were used as weapons of war in the Middle Ages, and later as hunting weapons. They played their principal role as shooting weapons in cities and the princely courts. Professional crossbow makers produced weapons of great technical and decorative quality. In the Renaissance and Baroque periods, crossbows were adorned with iconographical symbols. Shooting clubs, particularly in the cities of the Holy Roman Empire, took an important social role. Their gatherings and festivals were part of urban self-representation. For more informations, check the website of the museum.
You are welcome to visit the exhibition and have a nice time in the German capital. There is published a catalogue of the whole crossbow collection.