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There are many shelves displaying pikes dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. They were used by well-trained infantrymen to protect the harquebusiers and musketeers from enemy attacks on horseback. Most of the pikes in the armoury are no longer the same length they were originally – up to five metres; when bayonets were introduced, pikes lost their importance, and by the late 17th century had been shortened by around half their length. Handling these pikes correctly (they were also called long spears) was difficult and exhausting; it required many years of practice and very solid training.
Many of the staff weapons stored in the armoury originate from Upper Austrian workshops and were transported to Graz on wagons that passed through several toll stations on their way. Because these consignments of pikes and halberds were considered vital to the war effort, the estates obtained letters of passage from the Prince Regnant for the suppliers so that they could avoid the usual toll charges