Mit der Wiederherstellung des historischen Raumes

With the restoration of the historical space and coffered ceiling, a representative selection of ca. 500 of the most magnificent firearms of the 16^th, 17^th, and 18^th centuries in the collection of the Saxon electors is now returning to the Long Corridor of the Residenzschloss. Shot guns, rifles, and pistols from all over Europe are exhibited in showcases modeled on the historical cabinets, following a geographical and chronological order. An impression of the tight installation of the “personal arms of the king” is presented at the end of the corridor, accompanied by ancestral portraits, pictures of tournaments, and deer trophies, in part from the original holdings of the Long Corridor.

Airguns

In the wake of the scientific discovery of atmospheric pressure in the 17^th century, gunmakers devised several pneumatic shooting mechanisms. An air pump was used to store compressed air in a reservoir sealed with a pneumatic valve; the air pressure would then serve as propellent for the projectile. The advantages of such airguns included their noiselessness and multi-shot capability. The special mechanism shown here is found in an early 18^th-century airgun likely produced in Poland.

The Lorenzoni Repeater

One of the great challenges of early gunmaking was the production of multi-shot firearms. Towards the end of the 17^th century, the Florentine court gunmaker Michele Lorenzoni produced repeating guns with a 30-shot capacity. The system named after him offered fully automated processes for charging powder and bullet, priming, shutting the battery and cocking. However, similar models presented a relatively high risk of explosion.

The Matchlock

The matchlock is an early form of a mechanical ignition device for firearms. It was developed in the 15th century and was used in the military until the early 18th century. The powder in the pan was ignited by a smouldering fuse through a trigger mechanism, so that the actual propellant charge in the barrel could detonate through the ignition hole.

The Wheel Lock

The wheel lock was developed shortly after 1500, probably in southern Germany (Nuremberg or Augsburg) or in northern Italy. In the wheel lock, sparks are created by the friction of a pyrite (FeS₂ / "fool's gold") on the grooved face of a rotating wheel, which ignites the powder in the pan and releases the shot in the barrel chamber.

Around 1500, Leonardo da Vinci produced drawings (Codex Atlanticus) showing a similar wheel lock mechanism.

The Flintlock

Around 1600-1610 a type of flintlock was developed in France that remained the main firing mechanism for guns and pistols for the next 200 years. A flintstone clamped in the cock strikes a steel striking surface, the pan covered by the pan lid is opened at the same time, and the spark ignites the priming powder inside.

The Miquelet Lock (Snap Lock)

A modified type of lock, in which the ignition spark is created by striking a flintstone on a striking steel, is the miquelet or Spanish snap lock. It was developed in Spain, probably independently of the French flintlock.

Courtly Target Shooting

Shooting competitions became a a popular pastime at the courts of the early modern period, gradually replacing tournaments as the courtly "sport". Initially, crossbows were used to shoot at targets or wooden birds, then increasingly rifles (“Scheibenbüchsen“).

Fixed regulations included the various prize categories. Prize shootings were organised at the Dresden court in the 18th century for example on the day of the Order of the White Eagle (3rd August). Night-time shooting was a speciality: if the target was hit, a firework rocket was set off.