Today, over 2,000 knights and over 100,000 spectators are gathering at Grunwald, northern Poland, to stage a reenactment of the 600 year old battle.

On 15 July 1410, Polish, Lithuanian and Knights of the Teutonic Order gathered at the site for a battle that has gone down as one of the greatest in Poland’s history. This day, in 2010, on the 600^th anniversary of the occasion, medieval hobbyists are donning their armour to stage a battle, which begins at 13:00 CET.

Knights, dressed in medieval armour, at the strike of the clock and under command of the Polish King Wladyslaw Jagiello, will sing Bogurodzica, a religious hymn sung by the Polish knights before battle, and maneuver into the battle with the Teutonic Knights under the command of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Ulrich von Jungingen.

The re-enactment will last one hour. After the battle, visitors will be able to watch an air show and fireworks, view films in the outdoor cinema and listen to rock concerts.

Festivities are to continue Sunday, 18 July, when the battle field will be packed up and the knights will go to Malbork to stage a siege of the medieval castle. (mmj)

Audio by Elzbieta Krajewska