Through Gnezdovo mounds to the origins of Russia

Last weekend a reenactment festival «Gnezdovskie kurgany – 2011» was organized at Gnezdovo archeological complex. Battlefield-historic clubs from Moscow, Minsk, Bryansk, Kaliningrad and Smolensk took part in it. Saint-Petersburg centre of living history «Staraya skazka» under support of Administration of Smolensk region became a coordinator of the festival.

For several days IX – X century inhabitants’ camp was set up on the Dnieper river side. All participants of the reenactment had authentic garments and weapon of the Middle Ages early epoch. The reenactors have shown the embattling technique and master classes of different crafts.

The festival «Gnezdovskie kurgany – 2011» is going to be annual.

This event will attract wide public attention and make it possible to use this unique object for tourist purposes.

Gnezdovo archeological complexconsists of the monuments of the second half IX – XI centuries: two ancient settlements, adjoined by rural areas and more than 10 burial mounds, numbered all in all nearly 6 thousand mounds. They say it is Gnesdovo to be considered the original Smolensk.

Later on the same day the Executive Authorities in the field of tourism from Smolensk, Pskov, Novgorod regions have signed an Agreement of Cooperation. The key idea of the Agreement is an implementation of the tourist route «To the origins of Russia», devoted to the 1150-anniversary of the Russian state system. The route through Smolensk, Pskov and Veliky Novgorod will afford the tourists to get information about places of interest of the Russian province and see a special role of three ancient cities in the history of state system.