Some 1,200 reenactors wearing historical costumes on Saturday staged the famous battle in the Fields of Grunwald for the 25th time, broadcaster Radio Olsztyn reported.
This year marks 613 years since allied Polish and Lithuanian forces crushed the Knights of the Teutonic Order in what is considered to be one of the most glorious and significant military victories in Polish history.
Fought on July 15, 1410, the Battle of Grunwald saw Polish King Władysław Jagiełło and his army of allied forces defeat the war machine of the Teutonic Knights, which had previously been regarded as invincible.
Saturday’s reenactment, which attracted around 25,000 spectators, featured actors on horseback as well as foot, sporting heavy armour and playing the parts of knights, squires and archers on both sides, state news agency PAP reported.
Photo: PAP/Tomasz Waszczuk
As every year, highlights included the staging of a scene in which two bare swords were handed to King Jagiełło by Teutonic heralds before the battle and the death of Teutonic Grandmaster Ulrich von Jungingen, a key point in the battle.
History enthusiasts from countries including the United States and Ukraine took part in this year’s event, alongside Polish reenactors, according to the newspaper Rzeczpospolita.
As in previous years, the main part of the show began with the singing of the powerful medieval anthem Bogurodzica (Mother of God), which the Polish knights intoned before the battle more than six centuries ago, news outlets reported.
A new museum opened in Poland in September last year to tell the story of the country's victory in the Battle of Grunwald.
(gs)
Source: PAP, polskieradio.pl, radioolsztyn.pl
Click on the audio player above to listen to a report by Radio Poland's Agnieszka Bielawska.