![]() In actual fact it could even be returned to proper working order to this day. The story, however, went that the museum staff managed to save the gun from being taken away by making up an alleged flaw in the barrel, which would only mean that the gunners operating it would be at risk of being blown apart while the gun itself would be useless. This massive super gun stirred particular desires, as its mobility, range and destructive potential would still have suited the Third Reich's expansionist ambitions very well. That's because at the time when the Nazis took over Austria in 1938 (see Anschluss) and all through WWII, they also went through the military museums of the country and tried to seize what they still deemed usable in the war. When I was last there I overheard a guide telling his German-speaking group of visitors that this gun is the sole survivor of its type – but that it nearly did not make it. But there are also intriguing stories attached to it. The size of this brute is impressive enough on its own. Overall the compromise achieved is commendable. That standard was used during the Polish-Russian War of 1654-67 and the Swedish invasion. But those larger exhibits that still require considerable space are still given it in a sufficient manner. This banner is now on display in the Military Museum in Stockholm. It's now partly been arranged on two levels, which takes away some of the cavernous space the old exhibition sat in. Thus parts of the exhibition are a bit crammed in places (and when there are a lot of visitors, bottlenecks can cause congestion). Since the new exhibition is so much richer than the old one, it also requires a lot more space. The first battle occurred when the Swedes sought to capture the city of Riga which at the time lied within the borders of Poland. Content-wise it's organized in a very good mix of chronology (from mobilization and the various stages of the war to the post-war consequences) and thematic clustering. Whereas previously this section had little more than just big pieces of hardware (guns and parts of fortifications) with hardly any commodification, the new exhibition is an altogether more elaborate affair that now also comes with plenty of intriguing smaller original artefacts, bilingual explanatory texts throughout and even a few multimedia elements. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |