23.04.2014.

Exhibition "Handguns from the Collection of West-European Weapons and Equipment until the 19th century" opens

On the occasion of the Serbian Armed Forces Day, at the Military Museum in Kalemegdan today, exhibition entitled "Handguns from the Collection of West-European Weapons and Equipment until the 19th century" was opened. The exhibition was opened by Milos Jankovic, Deputy Minister for Human Resources, who said on this occasion that the history of the Serbian nation is rich in important and fateful events, and that 23rd April 1815 when the Second Serbian Uprising was raised is among the most important ones.

- The creation of a standing army and the establishment of the Guard were a sure indication of the inevitability of the Serbian victory and a guarantor of the success achieved. These events have confirmed the aspirations of the contemporaries to have free, independent and well equipped country in the family of European countries. I express my great satisfaction that I had the honour to open the exhibition on the occasion of the greatest military holiday, in one of the most important cultural institutions in our country, in a space that exudes tradition, within which you will be shown over a thousand museum objects, and several hundred guns, Jankovic said.

According to him, the visitors will see the first period of development of the handgun, from the time of its appearance in the battlefield during the 16th century to the end of application of the flintlock firing system in mid-19th century, and over time, due to various social, political, economic or social factors, handgun was formed as a separate construction of weapons, with very specific purpose when it secured its place in arms over the subsequent centuries.

Among the 24 exposed objects there are pieces made in workshops and studios of the best European craftsmen and artists of their time, with clearly visible characteristics of styles of design and decoration, originating from Italy, France and Central Europe. What is the most interesting is their impact on the handguns in the territory of the Balkans, then under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, with which the fearless rebels led by famous generals, Karadjordje and Milos Obrenovic, won their first victories.

Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Mijatovic, Head of Military Museum, welcomed the audience and said that the exhibition was opened symbolically, on the most important day for members of the Serbian Armed Forces.

The author of the exhibition is curator Vuk Obradovic, and the author of the display is designer Dusan Pesic. Sound of the Quartet of the "Stanislav Binički"Art Ensemble of the Ministry of Defence completed the opening ceremony of the exhibition.