In 1962, Frederic Marès donated a collection of weapons to the City Council of Barcelona to create the Museo Militar de Montjuïc. This exhibit is composed of that museums' collection combined with contributions from other city museums. There are more than 300 examples of crossbows, muskets, arquebuses, pistols, powder horns, helmets, shields, swords and daggers from the 16th through 19th centuries.

Though the collection began in 1920, the majority of items were added in 1960 with the acquisition of the collection of Josep Moragas. An antique dealer and collector, he also provided pieces to Josep Estruch of Barcelona, who by the end of the 19th century, had amassed one of the finest private weapons collections. After Estruch's death, it passed to the Musée de l'Armée in Paris.

This room displays a representative selection of Frederic Marès' collection, which was taken in by our museum upon the closure of the Museo Militar de Montjuïc in 2009. Over fifty swords are displayed in the lower cases. Displayed above are helmets, pieces of armor, a variety of muskets, pistols, an arquebus, rifles and a grouping of powder horns . In the glass case in the center is a collection of pistols, including some made in Catalonia in the 18th century and several by the gunsmith Lefacheux in the 19th century. Finally in the case near the end of the room, you will find central European hunting crossbows with elaborate inlays.