Libušín 2012

My health forced me to spend most of April in the Priessnitz Spa. However, its whole treatment counts on the fact that the patient is going to take a trip for the weekend. I made the trip to the twenty-first Battle of Libušín. Anyway, it’s quite a big tourist attraction (about 5000 spectators).

There was accompanying programme prepared for the visitors beginning at about noon, which consisted of a concert of the group Peregrin, jugglers, a show with birds of prey and also competitions for the visitors. There was also a historical market and the encampment, including a historical kitchen in one of the encampments. The prices were very friendly, to be exact, you were asked to “contribute what you wish”. But unfortunately, all the food contained gluten or lactose, so bad luck for me. As usual, the market offered everything from jewellery, to leather and smithery goods and wolves’ skulls. There was of course also some food and drinks and for example the sausages were fabulous.

The Battle of Libušín is not focused on any particular historical period and you could see everything from the early Middle Ages to the Thirty Years War. Therefore, there was almost one thousand of fighting participants and as many non-fighters in the camps. As usual, the battle had a given scenario, which was presented to the spectators in the best way I have ever seen; two Dominican monks were writing a chronicle according to what they saw from a merchant station’s tower.

There were two slight showers of rain near the end of the battle, but nobody seemed to mind, since the weather was quite hot throughout the day. About three uncontrolled fights and several arenas followed after the battle.

I left quite soon, but I was satisfied and the organizers of the Battle of Lipany have invited me to shoot their event.

When it comes to the organization, it was much better than the previous year. There were almost no anachronisms in the forest behind the clearing where the battle was fought, I only saw one person with a camera and some van with sound systems. And we could even say that the battle started on time. The undisturbing commentary of the Dominican monks was already mentioned, but it deserves it again.