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The #MartCult research team went to visit the temporary exhibition Faszination Schwert swords at the Landesmuseum Württemberg. This ambitious exhibition (3500 objects on 1000m2) takes place in the Altes Schloss, the re-built princely residence of the dukes of Baden-Württemberg. The aim of the exhibition is to display sword culture in Europe from 17th c. BC up until the Future, from the Bronze Age to the fictive world of Star Wars. The exhibition relies on the important collections of the Landesmuseum of antique and Celtic swords on the one hand, the remains of the once highly praised armoury of the counts (later dukes) of Württemberg. A small number of medieval pieces complement these two focuses of the presentation. Nonetheless the curators of the exhibition managed to please even medievalists and to provoke relevant reflections, which go beyond classical historical periodisation. Moreover, the exhibition's discourses and installations are well structured and displayed in innovative ways through the different spaces, with a convincing scenography. It includes interactive installations, as well as audio-visual material, without casting shadow on the impressive number of significant objects.View of room 3: The Sword as a Symbol"Faszination Schwert" Special exhibition of the Landesmuseums Württemberg in Stuttgart 13.10.2018 - 28.4.2019. © Landesmuseum Württemberg, Hendrik Zwietasch.   The first space concentrates on sword manufacture and includes a video of an archaeological experiment for casting a bronze sword. It also sports didactic displays about sword components and tools used for its production. Among the different displays, my favourite was the one about the ulfberht swords with a map showing their origins and the distribution of both "originals" and counterfeits with increasingly varied names.The second space is about typology, with a clever installation allowing to understand the main sword types appearing through history with representative examples in individual cases, associated with iconographical representations. It includes the now must-have installation allowing the visitor to grab a sword replica (and guess at its weight) and a video about Historical European Martial Arts practitioners demonstrating late Medieval art of fighting (featuring the Gladiatores).The thirdspace is about the warriors and their swords. In the centre, one of themasterpieces of the exhibition is on display, the sword of duke Eberhard imBart, with its beautifully decorated scabbard (achieved in 1495). The room alsoincludes the oldest known representation of sword fighters or dancers (Hochdorf,6th c. BC). Next to the display about chivalric orders, you can takeyour picture while being knighted by your friends - in the way the EnglishQueen has been doing for more than six decades.The sword and scabbard of duke Eberhard im Bart, 1495, private loan."Faszination Schwert" Special exhibition of the Landesmuseums Württemberg in Stuttgart 13.10.2018 - 28.4.2019.  © Landesmuseum Württemberg, Hendrik Zwietasch.  The fourthspace is about devotional practices, sporting among others the enigmatic bronzeand iron age river finds. Interesting pieces with inscriptions and otherengravings allude to battle magic, and, of course, Christian rites. A challenginginstallation about Christian saints whose attributes are swords tested our expertise.Statue of Holy Katharina, around 1450.  "Faszination Schwert" Special exhibition of the Landesmuseums Württemberg in Stuttgart 13.10.2018 - 28.4.2019. © Landesmuseum Württemberg, Hendrik Zwietasch.   Aninterlude between spaces firmly reminds the visitors that swords inflict oftendeadly damage on the human body. Split skulls, representations of wounds, aswell as voice-overs reading descriptions of the consequence of sword use fromvarious sources underline this truth often forgotten when dealing with"fascinating" swords. It leads the visitor to the next space aboutthe propagandistic uses of the sword. It presents, among other things, itemsrepresenting the confessional propaganda of the Thirty Years war, the U.N. 's useof the image of the broken sword, Bismarck as unifier of Germany, and the impressiveuse of the figure of smith Wieland of the Nibelungen song by national socialistpropaganda.First World War Medal,"Faszination Schwert" Special exhibition of the Landesmuseums Württemberg in Stuttgart 13.10.2018 - 28.4.2019. © Landesmuseum Württemberg, Bildarchiv.   The last two spaces deal with swords and heroes. First through historical narratives and legendary figures, then through movies and gaming cultures, and lastly through different modern activities re-enacting swordplay. A room allows you to step into a recent Czech game and to embody the hero through a device capturing your sword fighting movements while translating it on screen. The large screen in the middle displays fighting scenes from well known movies in front of different cases that display the swords of these movies (or their copies) and posters, including, of course, Star Wars' iconic light sabre. A large case then displays several sword replicas used for modern sword fighting, including re-enactment, stage fencing and Historical European Martial Arts, supported by interviews and images allowing to learn different perspectives from practitioners. It ends with the allegedly most famous of all famous swords: Excalibur – who will pull it out of the stone and be the once and future king?I haveseen, or collaborated with many large international exhibitions about swordssince 2011. This exhibition manages to reach a very high level with innovativeand interactive spaces, encompassing a very broad and complete history of themulti-faceted sword cultures. Our research project about martial culture returnsenlightened by the exhibition, with thought-provoking ideas for our ownexhibition project in 2021-2022.Daniel JaquetAcknowledgement: We thank Dr. Matthias Ohm, one of the curators of the exhibition, for having spent time for us and guided us through the exhibition. Interested readers could turn to the special issue 14 of the journal AiD (Archäologie in Deutschland), which plays the role of the accompanying exhibition catalogue, with 12 scientific contributions and several images from the exhibition itself.#lmwschwert, www.schwert-stuttgart.de[cite]