Spandau Arsenal was the center for development of military small arms for Imperial Germany from the Industrial Revolution until 1919. [1] Spandau engineered and tested improved infantry weapons.
The Royal Prussian Rifle Factory was established on the river Havel at Potsdam in 1722 by Frederick William I of Prussia. The facility was leased to private manufacturers until machinery was moved upstream to the confluence with river Spree in the westernmost Berlin borough of Spandau about 1850. Early arsenal operations were east of the Spandau Citadel, but the arsenal later expanded into the Renaissance fortress. Spandau became the focus of government small arms production through the Second Industrial Revolution until the arsenal was demilitarized by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Following demilitarization, arsenal machinery was used for manufacture of civilian goods by the state owned conglomerate Deutsche Werke AG. By the 1930s, the arsenal became a laboratory for development of organophosphate insecticides. [2] The citadel became a museum following World War II. [3]
Weapons manufactured at Spandau included:
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury or armory are mostly regarded as synonyms, although subtle differences in usage exist.
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Mauser, originally the Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik, was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols was produced beginning in the 1870s for the German armed forces. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Mauser designs were also exported and licensed to many countries, which adopted them as military and civilian sporting firearms. The Gewehr 98 in particular was widely adopted and copied, and it is the foundation of many of today's sporting bolt-action rifles.
The Spandau Citadel is a fortress in Berlin, Germany, one of the best-preserved Renaissance military structures of Europe. Built from 1559–94 atop a medieval fort on an island near the meeting of the Havel and the Spree, it was designed to protect the town of Spandau, which is now part of Berlin. In recent years it has been used as a museum and has become a popular tourist spot. Furthermore, the inner courtyard of the Citadel has served as an open air concert venue in the summertime since 2005.
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Spandau may refer to:
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