On September 28-29 on the territory of the Bolgar Museum-Reserve in the Republic of Tatarstan will be held a new large-scale historical festival “Bolgar. Journey to the Past”. The event is expected to bring together more than 10,000 history buffs and travelers and give them the opportunity to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the ancient Volga city. The guests of the festival will be able to get acquainted with the life of bygone eras in an accessible form and learn how people lived, worked and spent their leisure time in different periods on the territory of the ancient settlement. The entrance to the event will be free of charge for all guests of the festival.
During all two days of the festival 10 sites will be presented for guests, where everyone will be able to plunge into the atmosphere of the Middle Ages, recreated with the help of unique theatrical performances, workshops, historical fairs and thematic battles. All sites will be divided into four historical periods of the ancient city of Bolgar: the Volga Bulgaria, the Golden Horde, the Kazan Khanate and the Russian state. The central event of the whole festival will be thematic battles of reconstructors of Moscow raitars of the XVII century, cavalrymen of a new formation with firearms.
The organizers have planned an evening music program with the participation of famous Russian and Tatarstan bands. As a bright finale of the event, a spectacular fire show is planned, where fire performances will be accompanied by medieval music.
“The site for the festival was chosen by our team, of course, not by chance. Firstly, Bolgar is one of the significant historical places not only in Tatarstan, but also in the whole of Russia. Secondly, the territory is ideal for such a large-scale festival: a huge area and incredibly beautiful nature. This year we have prepared new original formats for our guests. Among them will be many educational: we will hold historical lectures, quests, we will reveal the history of costume, talk about the history of Tatarstan and the Volga region. In addition, the festival will become the center of event tourism of the Volga region”, - shared Alexey Kokurin, organizer of the festivals ‘Battle of the Epochs’ and ‘Great Bolgar’, executive director of the company ‘Journey to the Past’.
“Bolgar. Journey to the Past” is an event that is designed to unite people of different generations in a fascinating journey into history. In order to feel the atmosphere of the past for a while, guests will be able to take part in fencing classes on sports weapons, master classes on ancient crafts or spin in the whirlwind of medieval dance.
“Each of our festivals is special and is aimed, above all, at preserving traditional family values. “Bolgar. Journey to the Past” is no exception. The festival organizers will present the guests with a holiday of history, culture and enlightenment. Participants of all ages will be able to find something to their liking. Children and adults will join the history, see historical battles, watch exciting performances, learn ancient crafts or get acquainted with the work of the most famous masters from all over Russia. And industry professionals, through a specially designed business program, will be able to learn modern trends in the development of event tourism from leading Russian experts in this field”, - said Mark Rofman, organizer of the festivals ‘Battle of the Epochs’ and ‘Great Bolgar’, commercial director of the company ‘Journey to the Past’.
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In 2022, the organizing team announced the closure of the already well-known large-scale, which became international, medieval battle festival “Great Bolgar”. The event was held annually in Tatarstan on the territory of the Bolgar ancient settlement, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, from 2014 to 2022. Over 200 thousand spectators have visited the festival over the entire period of the project's existence. “Great Bolgar” is the winner in the category ‘Event of the Year’ of the annual Russian Event Industry Awards EFEA Awards and the winner of the Grand Prix ‘Russian Event Awards’ 2020.