I International Historical Festival "Ladoga" 2013

The festival will be held on July 12, 13, 14 on the territory of the Lyubshansky Reserve (Karpov Estate “Lyub-sha”).

The festival will be attended by more than 50 representatives of historical reconstruction from foreign countries (Norway, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, Germany) and more than 300 Russian representatives of historical reconstruction clubs.

The idea of the festival is to revive the old harbor of the formation of the ancient Russian statehood, as one of the most important points on the trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks". Recent archaeological finds have shown that it was on the Volkhov River in Ladoga, and a century earlier in Ljubsha, that Scandinavian traders wintered and exchanged drakkars for small ships capable of sailing far to the East along the endless rivers of Gardariki. The festival will reflect the life of the settlement located on a large river transport hub.

The program is full of various activities from military performances to handicrafts, both Slavs, the local Baltic population, and Scandinavians who traded goods brought from faraway places. The pearl of the festival will be Viking and Rus ships collected from all over the Baltic Sea. Russian shipbuilders will have a great opportunity to communicate and share experience with their European colleagues. Guests of the festival will be able to feel the atmosphere of that time, take part in various games, master classes and competitions that are specially provided for tourists at the festival, listen to the music of those times and taste dishes prepared according to recipes 1000 years ago.