Knight fights, stilts, acrobats. Visited the festival “Minsk old-timers”

About 170 clubs presented locations at the festival of historical reconstruction “Minsk Starazhytny” on the green zone at the intersection of Winners and Masherov Avenues on September 12, on the City Day of Minsk, the correspondent of the Minsk-Novosti agency reports.

The festival has been held since 2012. It is unique in that it covers all ten centuries of the history of Minsk. The reconstructions present the Early, High and Late Middle Ages, the Reformation, the Patriotic War of 1812, the First World War and the Great Patriotic War.

- Every year, reenactors surprise guests with unique performances. New clubs often join us. This year the geography covers Belarus, Russia and China. This time, 500 people from about 170 clubs are participating in the festival, Artistic Director Igor Usenko said.

The festival began with the procession of reenactors. After that, stiltmen came to the stage. Then the guests began to entertain the acrobats.

All of them are participants of the KUSTUDIO show theater. The age of the artists is from 15 to 51 years. Among them are a former police colonel, a graduate of a Moscow circus school, an international-class master of sports in rhythmic gymnastics. There is also a pharmacist by profession, who at the time of the festival turned into a circus artist, skillfully wielding fire.

- We will impress the audience with a medieval dance on stilts, followed by a knightly tournament with the participation of Przewalski’s horse. Children and adults will be entertained by street circus artists. The culmination will be a large synchronous dance, during which paired, juggling duets will perform - real masters of their craft, said Valery Nesterchuk, a participant of the KUSTUDIO show theater.

At the festival you can see medieval dishes, food, armor. Before the audience will perform spearmen, buhurts, five, and the program will end with the storming of the castle.

Next to the medieval knights there were tents of officers of the First World War.

- There is a machine gun in our collection that you can take pictures with. There will be a bayonet fight, and the audience will be able to try their accuracy when shooting a bag from a rifle. Artifacts of the German and Russian Imperial armies are also on display. At 16:30, the reconstruction of that period will unfold on the site, said reenactor Artem Bykov.

In addition, visitors will be able to get acquainted with samples of Soviet medical instruments and medicines from the Great Patriotic War, supplied under Lend-Lease: harnesses, sanitary stretcher strap for the evacuation of the wounded.

- Guests will learn how the medicine of the First World War smelled - iodopharm was treated with wounds, lugol was treated with inflammation in the oral cavity. There are hourglasses, tin mugs of that time, and even a microscope produced in 1935, said Roman Tolstolutsky, a member of the historical and patriotic public association “We will remember”.

Minsk residents can try their hand at archery, as well as take pictures at a location with a secret meal in 1812.

- We arrived in Minsk from Moscow and happened to attend the celebration of the City Day. We walked around the park, saw a beautiful opening ceremony of the festival with knights, stiltmen, soldiers, etc. In the heart fell a white poodle, a very beautiful and cute dog. We decided to watch what was happening. It is very interesting what will happen next, admitted the visitor Anna Shcheglova. - I liked Minsk, too. This is our first time here. I admired the beautiful architecture, caring attitude to historical buildings.

Photo by Denis Kulagi

To be completed