{"id":157337,"date":"2026-04-16T05:44:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T02:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/?p=157337"},"modified":"2026-04-15T22:51:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T19:51:25","slug":"equipment-that-can-withstand-even-the-roughest-knightly-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/equipment-that-can-withstand-even-the-roughest-knightly-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Equipment That Can Withstand Even the Roughest Knightly Games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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If you find Estonia\u2019s historic fortresses to be rather dull museum attractions\u2014stone structures of walls and loopholes without engaging content\u2014we won\u2019t stop you from holding on to that preconception. However, we would point out that there are remarkable differences in museum exhibits, exhibitions, and activities that encourage visitor participation.<\/p>\n

A positive example is the staff at Rakvere Castle. Their immersion in the roles of medieval soldiers, castle stewards, and tavern maids, combined with their eloquence in conveying historical knowledge in an engaging way, rivals that of many professional actors in city theatres. And the cunning way they wrap visitors around their little finger and get them to try medieval tournament skills is irresistible, and sometimes with humorous consequences<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

In terms of news value, the exhibition \u201cWhen Men Were Made of Iron\u201d, opened at the end of January at Kuressaare Episcopal Castle and running until 29 November, may already have lost its most immediate headline appeal. However, its exhibits, and the person behind this armour and weapons exhibition, are definitely worth highlighting.<\/p>\n

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The Polish craftsman blacksmith Sergey August<\/b> has been interested in the history of knightly orders and the heroes of the era all his life. This passion grew into a professional calling in 2004, since when he has been producing armour and weapons using traditional methods: a forge, hammers, and engraving tools. He has even had to make some of his own tools based on museum artefacts and historical drawings.<\/p>\n

As a result of this long-term work, August\u2019s collection now consists of 80 full suits of armour, and 95 other items. These include knightly armour from the 15th to 17th centuries, soldiers\u2019 battle and ceremonial helmets, and even complete horse armour. The items are crafted with such precision that, in addition to their authentic visual aesthetics, the details are also fully functional. Unlike many modern replicas, August\u2019s creations can withstand the impact of real combat blows while still ensuring the wearer\u2019s mobility.<\/p>\n

August\u2019s contribution to the authentic presentation of history has been recognised across Europe. Before Kuressaare, his collection or parts of it have been exhibited in several respected museums in Poland and Germany, at the castle of the 14th-century Polish king Casimir III the Great in Niepo\u0142omice in southern Poland, and last year in Estonia at the visitor centre of Vastseliina Episcopal Castle. A selection of medieval shame and punishment masks forged by August is still on display there.<\/p>\n

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The exhibition \u201cWhen Men Were Made of Iron<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u201d, or in Estonian \u201cKui mehed olid rauast\u201d, is on display in the hall of the north-eastern wing of Kuressaare Castle until 14 May from Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00\u201318:00, and thereafter during the summer season until mid-September every day, 10:00\u201318:00. Admission to both the exhibition and the entire Episcopal Castle costs \u20ac13 for adults, \u20ac10 for students and pensioners, and \u20ac29 for a family ticket, for two adults and children. Holders of the Estonian Museum Card and children under 9 enter free of charge.<\/p>\n

What else to see and do in Kuressaare \u2013 read here<\/span><\/a><\/span>, and please note that the dates for summer events are based on last year\u2019s calendar).<\/p>\n

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  If you find Estonia\u2019s historic fortresses to be rather dull museum attractions\u2014stone structures of walls and loopholes without engaging … Read more<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":157327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[46,47],"tags":[291,13217,13583,17688,19172,27250],"class_list":["post-157337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-culture","tag-events","tag-kuressaare-2","tag-saaremaa-2","tag-medieval","tag-episcopal-castle","tag-armour"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157338,"href":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157337\/revisions\/157338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}