Mediaeval Reenactment at Rakvere Castle, Estonia Poster

"Mediaeval Reenactment at Rakvere Castle, Estonia" by Catherine Sherman. Men dressed as mediaeval soldiers carry spears and a flag in a reenactment scene in Rakvere Castle in Estonia. The flag features an aurochs, which is a large, long-horned wild ox that became extinct in the 17th century. The 1226 Chronicle of Livonia included a description of an ancient wooden castle on Rakvere hill, called Tarvanpea. In Estonian, Tarvanpea means ‘the head of an aurochs’ – hence the flag. There is also a massive bronze sculpture of an aurochs on the castle hill called Tarvas. The aurochs is considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. The oldest known archaeological traces of the ancient fortress on Rakvere's Vallimäe hill date from the 5th-6th century. Throughout the ages, Rakvere castle has belonged to Danish kings, knight-monks of the Livonian Order and the Swedish and Polish states. During the Polish-Swedish War of 1600-1629, the castle was partly blown up by the Polish troops in 1605, and later also by the Swedish army. The castle has lain in ruins ever since. From the 13th century until the early 20th century, Rakvere was more widely known by its historical German name, Wesenberg(h). Today the castle is the site of a theme park in the castle representing the everyday life of the 16th century. We enjoyed lunch, pageantry, history lessons and watching a vodka testing contest. My husband was drafted to evaluate the different vodkas. In the background is the distinctive steeple of a Lutheran Church, which was established in 1698. Photograph taken in July 2014.