08 April 2017

On Providing the Swiss Guard's Armor

"Austrian blacksmiths who produce ceremonial suits of armor for the Vatican's Swiss Guards are close to the end of their current deal to do so, and say supplying the suits will not be an issue for many years to come.

"One of the drawbacks of the Swiss Guards' medieval uniforms is that the craftsmanship needed to make them is disappearing.

Faced with an aged stock in need of replacement, the Guards turned to brothers Johann and Georg Schmidberger - the fifth generation to run the family blacksmith's business in the Austrian town of Molln - to provide them with 80 suits of armor covering the torso and arms."

A recent Yahoo News article reported on the craftsmanship needed to produce the Swiss Guards' armor.

To access the complete report (with its related slideshow), please visit:

Yahoo News: Suiting up the Swiss Guard: Austrian blacksmiths practice vanishing craft for Vatican guards (4 APR 17)

Background information:

The Vatican: The Uniform of the Swiss Guard

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