CULTURE

Bringing The Middle Ages to life - A Festival on Malta Lake

The I International Festival of Early Mediaeval Culture takes place on 29 and 30 July on the Malta Lake in Poznań. The event organisers are the "Jantar" team of Albert Kiszkurno and the Palace in Krześlice, in the person of director Adam Antonijczuk.

Malta common will be the arena for displays by the Knights of Lech, featuring knightly combat, battles between teams from various "tribes" and the ceremonial blessing of a ship. There will also be the reconstruction of a fortified stronghold, which will then be stormed. Other attractions include musical interludes, coin-stamping, mediaeval tanning and the casting of amulets. The public will also be able to take part in a variety of mediaeval contests: spear throwing, cross-bow firing, oak keg and log hurling and chopping logs with an axe.

Albert Kiszkurno, the "commander-in-chief" of the "Jantar" team of knights from Poznań, and co-organiser and director of the festival, hopes that the event will bring people closer to mediaeval culture, in which Poznań was such an important link. During this most vivid of history lessons, certificates will be on offer, as well as city "passports", which will double as a bilingual Polish/English guide to Poznań.

After delving into the past, Adam Antonijczuk, director of the Palace in Krześlice, proposed an expedition into the near future. Autumn 2000 sees the release of a CD containing a catalogue of castles, palaces and restaurants throughout Poland, which is aimed at promoting these little-known locations as interesting venues for recreation and business. Karol Banaszczyk, who assisted Adam Antonijczuk with this multimedia project, admits: "The choice of format is dictated by  the needs of the moment".