The Hanns Schell Collection is the world’s largest museum of locks and keys, coffers, ornamental boxes, chests, safes and ornate cast iron. This unique collection is displayed on three floors and comprises an area of more than 2500 square meters. The museum also offers visitors a special hands-on opportunity to discover the secrets of several unique locking systems.

Lock and key have one main purpose: to protect belongings from the intrusions of unauthorised persons. Locks were developed from an interaction of technical inventiveness and the tradesman’s skill. The outer forms of locks and keys were ornamented and decorated with the stylistic features of particular times. But it is not only the purely decorative form that permits us to work out when they were made: the technical development also offers hints for dating.

The aim of this exhibition is to give the visitor some idea of the technical beauty and manual skill particular locks and keys have acquired from the hands of masters and journeymen.
The three main locking systems, the bolt lock, the drop-latch lock and the twistlock are shown in selected examples for various periods. The technology of the locks is explained and shown further with drawings and diagrams.

Masterpieces and journeyman pieces are notable for their rich ornamentation and complicated technology. In addition, they are often dated or inscribed.

Naturally enough, the development of locks is inseparable from that of the appropriate keys. Keys for chests or furniture locks with a ‘show side’ can be identified from their richly decorated bows. The web of a key indicates the corresponding latches of the lock.
In addition to door and furniture keys, padlocks are also on show. Among all these items there are some superb master and journeyman pieces.

The human wish to lock important things away associates the lock with small items of furniture – an important aspect of applied art. Locks on cassettes, chests and boxes show one example of how this technology is applied.
Various materials, such as wood, ivory, silver, iron, turtleshell or brass, sometimes combined with each other as well, show boxes from the most important centres of art in Europe.
Chests with big bars on the inside present, in superb workmanship, the combination of decorative furniture with high security.

Inseparably associated with lock and key are the garnishings and door knocks. Metal garnishings add to the security of the door or help the key to fit into the lock. In addition, they have a high decorative value.
Door knocks are, in addition to the lock, a barrier on the door with whose help a visitor can call attention to himself or herself.

Part of the exhibition is devoted to non-European art. Locks, keys, garnishings and cassettes from Africa and Asia provide glimpses of the ornamental styles and techniques of other countries, and here both technical developments such as the tension spring lock, and parallels in locking systems draw the eye.

The Hanns Schell Collection hopes that this exhibition will help to bring one sector of applied art from everyday life more clearly into the consciousness of its users and of the museum visitors.