Our Grunwald 2018: Reenactment of the largest battle of medieval Europe in Dudutki

Last weekend the Dudutki museum complex was imbued with a special atmosphere as it hosted jousting events, tournaments of halberdiers, lances, archers and bugurts, and the reenactment of the Battle of Grunwald, which is considered the largest battle in the history of medieval Europe. The 10th edition of the international festival of medieval culture Our Grunwald lasted for two days, 21-22 July. Visitors had a chance to become participants of the events that happened more than 600 years ago, to try on knightly armor, taste old dishes, and learn the skills of archery and medieval games and dances.

About 2,000 spectators came to Dudutki to see the reenactment of the Battle of Grunwald which took place on 15 July 1410 between the forces of the Teutonic Knights and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland. The most spectacular episodes of the momentous battle were reenacted by military history clubs from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic Sea states.

Apart from the military history reenactment, the program of the festival featured knights’ fights on foot, tournaments of halberdiers, lances, archers and bugurts (mass joisting fights). From morning till night spectators could visit interactive venues, take part in master classes in making armor suits and armaments, jewelry, as well as ore smelting, stone dressing and fabric dyeing… The concert program of the festival offered a mixture of music styles, from folk metal and power metal to shamanic rock and medieval music performed by folk and rock bands from Belarus, Russia, Ireland and Germany.

A draw of the second festival day was Belarus’ first full-contact fight on horseback. According to the rules of the 15th century, two horsemen rode towards each other along a wooden barrier at high speed trying to strike hard to unhorse the opponent. Such tournaments are reenacted just in a couple of countries today. Earlier, participants of the festival reenacted some fragments of the battle showcasing equestrian and fighting skills. This year visitors could see a full-scale tournament in which knights donning armor of the 15th-16th centuries fought using lances with coronels.

Battle of Grunwald, knight fights, a medieval town and visitors’ genuine emotions in our photo report!