Fragments of an early handgun found in Brandenburg, Germany, may be from Europe’s oldest known portable gunpowder weapon, according to new research.
The artifact, which is about 6 centimeters long, can be dated to 1390. If so, it would be nine years older than the famous Tannenberg riflewhich dates to 1399 and is considered the oldest hand-held firearm in Europe.
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In 2023, Matthias Dasse, a volunteer conservationist, discovered the handgun fragments during a field survey near Kletzke Castle in the Brandenburg region of Germany. Dasse took the pieces Gordon Thalmannhead of the Lower Monument Protection Authority of Prignitz, who identified the bronze casting as the barrel of an early firearm.
Researchers have given the object the nickname “Kletzker Handrohr”, which translates to “Kletzke hand cannon”, because they believe it may be linked to known siege of Kletzke Castle in 1390, when the fortress became the focus of a regional conflict in Brandenburg. According to a surviving account from a Franciscan monk Detmar of Lübecktwo dukes led 1,100 men in one march towards the castlewhich was held by the powerful von Quitzow family. The defenders managed to secure the castle and drive away the attackers. The castle was later renovated in the centuries that followed.
If the link between the siege and the Kletzke hand cannon is confirmed, the artifact will provide rare physical evidence of early firearms that began to appear in late medieval warfare.
However, Krauskopf noted that the Kletzke hand cannon was probably not made locally and may have been brought in by outside invaders.
The findings were presented on 27 February at the annual conference of the Norwegian Archaeological Department. Krauskopf plans to continue studying the fragments while the Brandenburg authorities work on developing Kletzke area for archaeological tourism.
