EUROPE'S LARGEST !

version 1.6

It must be noted that this page is under great development. However, I have started this page detailing the yearly event on Wolin Island (the world's largest 'Viking' (Germanic/Slavonic Heathen) Festival)) that is laregly and unfortunately less known about in the English speaking Western world. I truly hope that this information can be of use to those interested. If you can offer and further information then please do so, it would be greatly appreciated and I hope you find this information useful.

Wolin Island is the largest 'Viking' festival of the year, every year, which takes place on the first weekend of August and has, as of 2005, been running consequitively for 12 years! It is situated on the island of Wolin just off Poland and attracts around 37,000 visitors a time. To view photo's of the event please go to the organisers website HERE then click on 'festiwal' then 'festiwalu' and then either 'fesiwal 2005' (which will take you HERE) or 'galeria' (which will take you HERE)

The following is bits of information that I have received in English from the organisers and various other people in broken English. To them I am truly greatful. If you wish to contact them yourselves for any further information I would highly recommend that you please contact Wojciech Celinski at celinski.w@wp.pl who will be more than happy to help you. However, the information below gives you, I feel, enough information, to start with, to make the trip their succesfully!

"Wolin Island used to be a very important place for the Vikings, a thousand years ago. Today you can still find some of their remains, in the Wolin city museum for example. This small museum has an interesting exposition about Wolin in the Viking times."

From Wojciech Celinski:

I am sending for you some information in english language about our last event - this August. Our Festival is organized in city Wolin on Wolin Iseland. Exactly it has place on a little iseland on Dziwna river, near city of Wolin. Dziwna river "cut" the Wolin Iseland from the rest of Poland. For come here you can take a car and come by France and Germany and Polish city Szczecin (Stetin). You can also take a ferry from England to Hamburg. There are also ferrys from Copenhagen (Denmark) and Ystad (Sweden) to Swinoujscie (Swenemunde)- Polish city on Baltic see 27 km from city of Wolin.
The next year 12th event will be organized 4th - 6th of August 2006. There are some hotels near Wolin. For example: Hotel in Piaski Wielkie tel 0048913263123 email piaski@pro.onet.pl , and camping place 0048913261617 If you would like to see some photos of this year event please see our website www.jomsborg-vineta.com and choos "Festiwal" and "Wolin 2005" If you have some more questions please write us.
Greetings from Wolin

The below is a 'review' of the 11th event of the Slavs` and Vikings` Festival in Wolin in 2005 sent to me from Wojciech Celinski:

This year the record was broken, broken twice, in fact: the number of participants representing 23 countries reached fourteen hundred, the number of visitors exceeded 37 thousand. We hope everyone enjoyed themselves and found events particularly to their liking for the exceptional imagination and involvement of historical groups contributed, this year, to the truly exceptional programme. Numerous events rapidly followed each other all over the island during the three theme-days connected with the Festival`s general slogan: “Thus were we described. Chronicles, chronicles…”

Every day was devoted to the presentation of groups, and events, representing the culture and tradition of a different part of Europe . Russians, Hungarians and Belorussians co-organised the Eastern European Day and based their shows on Great Russia`s Chronicles and Saint Stephan`s, a Hungarian king`s, history. The Slavonic and Polish Culture Day was obviously organised by Polish groups and included battles, prophesy with a horse, a wedding and “a legendary play on how the Carpathian Mountains were created” ( to satisfy general demand the play had to be repeated on Sunday!). Various games, like live chess-play, for example, and music and dance shows were presented on the same day. The third day of the Festival, devoted to the Western European Culture and organised mainly by German participants included such fascinating events as a Great Viking Chief`s funeral and old traditional ways of tar production.

Five early mediaeval ships also visited our Festival this year. The first time visitor, 18 meter long Morag, was the longest boat we ever welcomed on our modern shores. The on-foot travelling salt-merchants pulling their wooden cart joined us again, to everybody`s delight!

For the second time the Belorussian dance and music band became a general favourite: not only did they play and dance mediaeval tunes but also taught the others how to do it. Other, already traditional attractions included realistically performed battle scenes (as ever accompanied by resounding rhythms of a huge Wolin drums), boat races, numerous competitions for the visitors and numerous presentations of the participants` skills.

It`s impossible to describe everything and everybody in a few line. Let`s just say they all contributed to making the Festival an unforgettable event for all who spent here those three August days, or even just a few hours. We hope they all plan to come back here next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MORE IMAGES:

Here 2001

Here 2004 ( zipped file )

and Here for website. 2005

Wolin always is in the first weekend of August.
Wolin is a little city about 5000 citizens ( in X century there was about 8000 )
so there can be problem with hotels but near ( about 10 km ) are turists towns near Baltic Sea ( Miedzyzdroje, Swinoujscie ) so you can find a lot of hotels there.
If you would like to get the phone number to the organisators "Stowarzyszenie Wolin Jombsborg Wineta" give me info on PM.
This is the oficial web site http://www.jomsborg-vineta.com/ Wolin as a city in Viking period was probably a Jomsborg the stonghold of the best warriors ever.

Sorry for my English

 

 

 

Other true re-enactors, no tthose doing it just for fun:

http://www.ulfhednir.dk/uk/index.html

http://www.tryglaw.org/index.html

http://www.ulfhednar.org/

http://www.jomsvikings.com/

http://www.vikingsonline.org.uk/