Ever been locked out of your house? Or maybe your car? As you waited for someone to come and rescue you, I bet you wondered if there was a museum dedicated to locks? Well, there is…because a museum exists for just about anything that crosses one’s mind (bananas, kazoos, even umbrella covers) while waiting for a locksmith. The Schell Collection in Graz, Austria is not only a museum all about locks, keys, coffers, ornamental boxes, and ornate cast iron, but also the biggest specialist museum of its kind in the world. Hanns Schell is a mountaineer and art collector. During his travels in the 1960s he began collecting iron keys and padlocks from small bazaars in countries like Iran and Pakistan, which continued to grow until the collection numbered more than 13,000 items. Wow! That’s a lot of freakin’ keys to keep track of! I hope there’s a locksmith on staff!
The Schell Collection in Graz, Austria
