The 2th Slavs and Vikings Festival is a unique event on the map of Poland. This is evidenced by the fact that this event is attended by many historical brotherhoods from all over the world. This year was no different. It is enough to mention that the event was attended by over 30 people from XNUMX countries around the world. See the photo report!

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XXIV Festival of Slavs and Vikings

We arrived at the venue on the last day of the XXIV Slavs and Vikings Festival in Wolin - Sunday, August 5th. The Center of Slavs and Vikings itself is an interesting place. It is basically an early medieval village that has been mapped based on the available source material. Currently, the open-air museum consists of 27 huts and 2 gates with embankments and fortifications, as well as the harbor coast. There are, among others, experimental workshops, you can also take a boat trip.

Attractions

The organizers have prepared a lot of attractions for the participants of the XNUMXth Slavs and Vikings Festival. Only on Sunday was the opportunity to participate, among others in the opening of the temple, learn about Slavic rituals and rituals, as well as participate in early medieval games and activities. There was also a gastronomic zone, where you could enjoy not only typical regional food, but also such curiosities as, for example, a roll with freshly smoked tuna.

Battle of the Slavs and Vikings

The biggest attraction of each year is the Great Battle of Slavs and Vikings. Each edition is attended by several hundred historical organizations that recreate the equipment and weapons of medieval warriors. An additional flavor is added by the fact that it is not only a staging. This is a regular battle in which neither side regrets being hit with all its might!

Program

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3

11:00 - Pageant and the opening ceremony of the festival. The procession will start from the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas the Bishop in Wolin.
11:00 - Rite of handing over power to Jarl Jomsborg - priests and the mayor hand over the insignium to Jarl.
11:50 am - Opening of the temple - building of the stanitsas, rite of spreading fire, prayer to the fire and offering, Scandinavian rite of offering blot.
12:00 - Rite of recognition and admission of a child to the community - staging.
12:00 - Meeting with birds of prey led by Agnieszka Borowska.
12:30 - Battle for the bridge - eliminations. A tournament of 5-person teams prepared by the Silver Wolf group.
12:30 - Miniature multi-face figurines from the Baltic Sea basin. Origin and functions - a lecture by Dr. Paweł Szczepanik.
12:30 - Theater performance.
13:00 p.m. - 15:00 p.m. - Divination from fortune telling chips (so-called foal) for men and from the ash line for women. - The temple is open to tourists.
13:00 - The rite of the haircut.
13:30 - Early medieval games and plays performed by the Birka Boys group.
13:30 - Odd Strzała, or how a noble Viking fought against paganism - lecture by Dr. Łukasz Malinowski.
14:00 - On the revelation of the deity to a Christian according to the Book of Miracles by monk Herbert - staging.
14:00 - Slave Market.
14:00 - Raven tournament (team fight of warriors) prepared by the Raven group - applications of teams and judges and explanation of the rules of the tournament.
14:30 - In Search of Creation - a meeting for children and young people with characters from Slavic mythology.
15:30 - About Jarowit's shield that saved a Christian monk - staged according to the accounts of Herbord and Ebbon.
15:30 - Water and fire in the rituals of ancient Slavs - lecture by Natalia Zacharek.
16:00 - A fortune-telling with a horse according to the Arkona rite perpetuated by the chronicler Saxon Grammar - staging.
16:00 - Battle of the Slavs and Vikings. There will be fights between two camps of warriors on the battlefield. About 400 participants will take part. A more brave and more hardened army will defeat the weaker, and the result will not be known until the last warrior.
17:00 - Scandinavian blood brotherhood, the so-called entry under the turf - staging.
17:00 - Marzanna and Jaryło - lecture by Dr. Michał Łuczyński.
17:30 - Sea battle involving replicas of early medieval boats.
18:00 p.m. - Slavic ritual of burning, preceded by the rites of bringing out the soul - staging.
18:30 - Qualifying for the tournament of individual fights for the Jarl Jomsborg award. Each group willing to take part in the tournament has two warriors. This tournament is only for the participants of the festival, but it is a show and presentation of fighting methods.
19:00 - Performances by musical groups and learning to dance.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 4

10:00 - Archery tournament - shooting site.
10:00 - Battle for the bridge - the final. A tournament of 5-person teams prepared by the Silver Wolf group.
10:30 - Weles, the chthonic god of the Slavs - lecture by Dr. Michał Łuczyński.
11:00 - Opening of the temple - building the stanitsa, lighting the fire, offering.
11:00 - Slavic pop culture - lecture by Dr. Elżbieta Żukowska.
12:00 - "Borka i Sambor" - meeting with the author of a comic for children and youth, Elżbieta Żukowska.
12:30 - "The War of the Gods. Tribes ”- meeting with Łukasz Radecki, the author of a book for children and youth.
12:00 - Slavic rituals and protective magic - a company sacrifice and an offering for Domowik.
13:00 - 15:00 - The temple is open to tourists.
13:30 - Calligraphy workshop led by Agnieszka Węgrowska.
13:30 - Early medieval games and plays performed by the Birka Boys group.
14:00 - Individual fight tournament for the Jarl Jomsborg award and award ceremony.
15:00 - Hávamál - Song of the Most High - lecture by Dr. Łukasz Malinowski.
15:00 - Scandinavian rite of offering the blodörn (the so-called bloody eagle) - human sacrifice - staging.
16:00 - Battle of the Slavs and Vikings.
17:00 - Rite of accepting a warrior to the team - staging.
17:00 - On the Scandinavian belief threads - lecture by Dr. Kamil Kajkowski.
17:30 - Competition for a women's outfit.
18:00 - Fear and its sources in the perception of the world of the old Slavs - lecture by Natalia Zacharek.
18:00 - Wedding rites (Slavic swaba and Scandinavian weddings) - staging.
18:30 - The results of the food competition. The tastiest ones will be selected from among all the dishes prepared by the participants.
18:30 - Raven tournament prepared by the Raven group (team fight of warriors) - final.
19:00 - Competition for the most dignified Viking beard and female braid. An open competition open to both participants and tourists. The length, color, hairstyle and other ornaments of the female beard and braid are assessed. The jury consists of tourists visiting the festival.
19:30 - Slavic rite of offering - human sacrifice based on written and archaeological sources - staging.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5

10:00 - Superstitions, or Slavic magical thinking - lecture by Dr. Elżbieta Żukowska.
10:30 - Training of the Bolesław Army.
11:00 - Opening of the temple - building the stanitsa, lighting the fire, offering.
11:00 - 9 worlds Yggdrasila - meeting for children and youth with Scandinavian mythology - lecture by Dr. Remigiusz Gogosz.
11:30 - Viking test - water test. Warriors fight with sticks standing on a board between two boats. The one who does not fall into the water wins.
11:30 - Falconry - presentation of birds of prey led by Michał Bień and Maciej Fabrykiewicz / Bolesław's Army.
12:00 - On the crops in Arkona - staged based on a description by the Saxon Grammar.
12:00 - "The Saga of the Ash" - meeting with the author of a book for children and youth, Magdalena Zawadzka Sołtysek and illustrator Anna Maria Bielecka.
12:30 - The Court of the Thing - staging of the Early Medieval Team Expulsion / Bolesław's Army.
13:00 - Show of Slavic forces and Viking ships - maneuvers on the water.
13:00 - Theater performance.
13:00 p.m. - 15:00 p.m. - Divination from fortune telling chips (so-called foal) for men and from the ash line for women. - The temple is open to tourists.
13:30 - Scandinavian rite of placing a pole of contempt - nithstang.
13:30 - Oracles and omens in pagan Scandinavia - lecture by prof. Leszek P. Słupecki.
13:30 - Early medieval games and plays performed by the Birka Boys group.
14:00 - Fighting school for children run by the Rujewit Mercenary Team / Bolesław's Army.
14:30 - Slavic weather magic depending on weather conditions: summoning rain based on Burhard's report from Worms, chasing away rain clouds based on folk traditions.
14:30 - Cult animals in Western Slavs - lecture by Natalia Zacharek.
15:00 - Slave Market. The chronicles speak of the Slavs as people who traded in captives. There will be something to look at, and a slave woman who is fit for work to be bought.
15:30 - Perun, the uranic deity of the Slavs - lecture by Dr. Michał Łuczyński.
16:00 - Battle of the Slavs and Vikings.
17:00 - Performance of an early music group.
17:30 - Settlement of the archery tournament.
18:00 - End of the Slavs and Vikings Festival.

See photos!