Instead of the parade on the Labor Day, Mir Castle hosted a historic event – the return of the royal military nobility of the prosperous era of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
At the invitation of the Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Hrodna, Jaroslaw Ksiązek, historical re-enactors from all over Poland, as well as the Czech Republic and Hungary for the first time traveled outside Hrodna and set out to storm the Belarusian castles..
Guests brought with them noble and military suits, in which they showed the how the nobles of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth looked at the time.
The Mir Castle used for the reconstruction is a special place. For several generations the Radziwills reigned here. They could wear similar clothes in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries..
Belarusian Scots
In the Mir castle, representatives of the historical clubs of Poland performed together with the Scots. The ‘Scottish Infantry‘theater performed in the Mir Castle for the first time, but so far few people knew that the “Scots” (as they called them in the GDL) had the most direct relation to the Belarusian history and the Radziwill family. On our lands the Scots appeared as far back as the 16th century, and, in addition, brought with them the first coin..
“The Scots fled to Rzeczpospolita mainly because of religious persecution. They were Calvinists, and the Radziwills of the Calvinist line readily accepted them as mercenaries. Janusz Radziwill and his son Boguslav even founded settlements in Slutsk and Kaidan for them. In addition to military service, the Scots engaged in petty trade and created competition for the local Jews. Some goods were so monopolized by them that they even got the name “Scottish things” — they are towels, mittens, beads and whitewash, brooms, knives, threads and needles, stockings,” explains one of the theater actors Vital Konan.
A Scot with a bright red beard suddenly holds out a tiny coin.
“This is a real double Scottish penny of 1632 — one of the first trade coins in Belarus. We bought it from the coin collector. This is the original. They are not expensive for us, because they are found in Belarus quite often,” Vitaly adds.
Battle of the Scots and the hussars
To the great pleasure of the guests of the castle and numerous tourists, the royal hussars, together with the Scots, began the alleged storming of the Mir Castle. The dead were many on both sides, but this time the “Scots” managed to take over the castle.
The Royal Hussars in turn continued their tour of the Belarusian castles and on May 2 at 16 o’clock they performed in Lida, after which they will go to Nyasvizh.
