Exactly a week ago I attended a local medieval festival. It is the largest festival of its kind in Scandinavia and it took place in Horsens, a small town not far from where I live. The festival is held every year in the end of August. I am very intrigued by this time period and finally this year I had a chance to attend this event in a company of a man that flew all the way from Ireland just to take me there. Although I knew the festival has been held for over 10 years, I did not expect much. However, it turned out to be one of the best days of my life. This was a very well organized event with a magnitude of artists and performers from all over Europe. A true feast for all senses. Luckily, this year the 30th of August fell on one of the most beautiful "indian summer" days I can remember and the whole center of this small town was transformed into a medieval marked. It was a complete historical illusion in a setting with over 5000 attendants disguised as street musicians, knights, noblemen, craftsmen and traders, selling merchandise in hundreds of stands. There were horses and even the impressive wolfhounds. The air was filled with smoke from burning fires, insense and medieval music and song. One truly got a feeling of being back in time. We spend almost 4 hours walking up and down the streets, admiring all the goods for sale. It was difficult to choose from all the pottery, medieval clothing and jewelry. We finally settled on buying two clay mugs, perfect for drinking mead or beer from on a hot summer day. And finally a gift for me: a small pilgrimage token, made in an image of a true artifact discovered in 2004 on an archeological excavation in "Silkeborg", a small town nearby. Crafted in a form of a crucifix, it depicts a crowned Jesus and was found near an old moat, which once surrounded a small fort, dating back to 1385.
8 comments:
it must of been such a great event
everyyear i try and get a chance to go to one
but i bet the one in england is marvelous..
i wish sometimes we can live in those days where theres nothing but trees and cool costumes
im not a citty person;my life rather consisnt in living in a cabin.
glad you had fun!
Melina, I hope you manage to visit one of these fairs, it is worth everything. I already look forward to one next year.
We have similar festivals in the US and I always enjoy them. Your gift is lovely... and how wonderful that someone flew from Ireland just to take you!
Thanks for stopping by my space!
Take care!
Diane, thank you so much for your visit - yes, it was a very nice day spend in a wonderful company.
I used to love medieval festivals. I have been to the Wisby one in Sweden, more than ten years ago now. Nice pics.
Thank you for stopping by Guillaume and for your compliments. I grew up Sweden, but was not aware that there was medieval fairs held in Visby, how interesting.
This sounds like an especially good medieval festival. I don't think we have anything that extensive or impressive over here.
Yes, I was surprised as to the magnitude of the event. But the weather was simply incredible and I am sure this contributed to the experience as well.
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