HEIMAT- UND HANDFEUERWAFFENMUSEUM (MUSEUM OF REGIONAL HISTORY AND SMALL-ARMS)

Description

Headquartered in the heritage-listed Fronveste of Kemnath, the Heimat- und Handfeuerwaffenmuseum Kemnath has presented collections on regional arms production and local archaeology since its opening in 1984.

The exhibition is housed in the former Fronveste; the original cells have been preserved and point to the building’s earlier use as a prison. A historic smithy has been installed in the outbuilding, and the courtyard is used for events and civil wedding ceremonies.

A focus of the permanent exhibition is the material collection relating to the first Bavarian rifle manufactory in Fortschau near Kemnath, which operated from 1689 to 1801. On display are matchlock and flintlock muskets with explanations of their development and operation. This section is complemented by hunting rifles that were produced mainly by local gunsmiths after 1814, following the dissolution of the armament works in Fortschau and the establishment in 1801 of a rifle factory in Amberg. The last rifles from Fortschau were delivered to the armories in 1814; the gunsmiths who remained then produced weapons for private use.

The second collection focus comprises archaeological finds from the Kemnath region. On display are evidence of human settlement more than 50,000 years ago as well as bone remains of Triassic reptiles such as Nothosaurus, Pistosaurus and Placodus, which lived more than 200 million years ago in the Muschelkalk sea of that time and were recovered on the outskirts of the town.

Since 2015 the Musikeum has operated nearby as an outpost, displaying historic music automata from private collections. The Heimat- und Handfeuerwaffenmuseum is run by the association Heimatkundlicher Arbeits- und Förderkreis Kemnath und Umgebung e.V.; the museum is part of the museum network das zwoelfer - Museen im Landkreis Tirschenreuth.