Battles of the Vikings at Pregol The Museum of the World Ocean celebrated its 30th anniversary with the Festival. The first discovery of the day was an exhibition of works by the Kaliningrad cartoonist Igor Pashchenko

Viking Battles on Pregol

The Museum of the World Ocean celebrated its 30th anniversary with the festival.

The first discovery of the day was the exhibition of works by Kaliningrad cartoonist Igor Pashchenko Happy Birthday, Museum!.

“This is a call to look at life more cheerfully. Wonderful understanding of our business, subtle humor, accurate observations! – this is how she described the new exhibition project – dedication museum director Svetlana Sivkova. By the way, you can see the works until the end of September in the lobby of the congress hall of the main building of the museum.

Exactly at noon, a lingering whistle announced the beginning of the main performance – the festival of historical ships.

The brave crew of the drakkar Windur, which sailed into the waters of Pregoli from the settlement of Kaup (a reconstructed early medieval Viking settlement), fought with sea robbers, when a monster appeared from the surface of the sea.

It was the ancient Russian boat Snake Gorynych – an analogue of the Varangian ships of the 9th century. Showing off in front of the audience, which densely dotted the embankment from both banks, Gorynych fired several victorious cannon volleys. It turned out loud, smoky, spectacular.

Then, one after another, on the main water platform flashed all sorts of ships and boats: boats, boats, kayaks, a skiff, a canoe, a Venetian gondola …

The boats were deftly controlled by characters dressed in bright costumes and easily recognizable. Peter the Great, a Turgenev young lady, an Apache leader with a son, Bavarians and Russians – they all sent their greetings ashore. Some with a brave shout, some with an air kiss, some with dazzling smiles.

When the last ship disappeared behind the giant Vityaz, I felt a little sad. After all, I so wanted to continue the holiday.

But here the water surface with a roar was “torn apart” by jet skis. And, as if by magic, flyboarders – Dmitry Tuev and twin brothers Sergey and Alexander Zharavins – soared up from the water. (A flyboard is flying on a special board due to the reactive force pumped by the flow of water.)

With the dexterity of acrobats, extreme sportsmen wrote somersaults for an encore. They left just as spectacularly and unexpectedly as they appeared.

Meanwhile, as if in opposition to the “earthly vanity”, a dozen yachts moored along the entire pier were swaying in an even formation on the river wave.

But they didn't have long to sleep like that. Raise the sails! will be sounded very soon, and the sailors will compete in speed and dexterity, competing in the final races of the Vityaz Mile regatta.

Master classes worked in full on interactive platforms. Open lessons were held by divers from Kaliningrad, and kite and windsurfers taught beginners to “catch the wave”, even if on land for the time being. There were also educational quizzes, quests and contests. The kids drew, the older schoolchildren explored the underwater world.

The dizzying performances of the flyboarders, the waltz of the baidar and the rowing regatta performed by the pupils of the sailing and rowing schools of Kaliningrad, as well as the no less spectacular passage of yachts and boats along the Pregla, will remember the Kalinigraders for a long time.

Give feedback

The editors get acquainted with readers' reviews, leaving the right not to enter into correspondence. Reviews on the site are not displayed.