Vikings! Hide your daughters! | Ancient Laukko Festival brought the middle ages to life

A group of vikings set ashore at Laukko manor around noon last Saturday. The vikings were fierce enough, but the people were spared of pillaging and slaughter. The pig was not as fortunate.

Medvind the Viking band arrived by viking boat and performed quite nicely on stage. They sang in Swedish which kinda fit the theme!

Laukko Manor is a historically significant location in Vesilahti, Finland. The manor is known for its beautiful surroundings and history that dates back to the 15th century. The Laukko manor is a fitting place to host a medieval festival with traditional craftsmen, skewered boar roast, vikings and soldiers.

It was my first time visiting the beautiful manor area, even though I live only 30 minutes away. The manor’s history is fascinating and I’m planning on attending a guided tour there at some point. According to Wikipedia, the manor was at its largest on the 17th century, owning up to 300 square kilometers of land. That’s one big medieval manor.

The man on the foreground is a fletcher, making bows and arrows!

A few years ago the manor was opened to the public. During the summer there is a lot happening at the manor. They have exhibitions, concerts, medieval tours, and other stuff. There’s a restaurant and what not. You can also come to Laukko manor via boat from Laukko square in Tampere. Attending the Ancient Laukko Festival cost I thinkin 15 euros, but once again, the awesome Museum Card provided free attendance.

The grand duel of two opposing forces! I think the one in red might have lost!

Laukko Manor made a fitting stage for the Ancient Laukko Festival

The event had a lot of traditional craftsmen selling their goods. The were smith’s goods, jewelry (metal, fish bone, gemstones), leather goods, woodcrafts and of course food and beer! There was also a viking band concert and a viking boat, medieval fight re-enactment, archery and historic panel discussion.

The townfolk and the tent village they had built really made the atmosphere feel authentic!

This was a nice shot because nothing is breaking the immersion here! 🙂

There were two fields, the one had this tent village and the other had the stage and restaurant areas.

The smith of Kvenland Forgeworks J. Peltoniemi bellowing some hot coal.

This carpenter was using a manual powered lathe to craft stuff! Impressive!

The not so lucky pig! They were serving “pulled pork”. The whole area was filled with the smell of the roast. It fit the event very well. Made a lot of folk hungry too!

There was also a picnic area where you could enjoy your own food. I think the event was well organised and you could easily spend an entire afternoon there just enjoying the atmosphere. I hope they will have the event next year too!

The Laukko Manor consists of many buildings, but the main building is the most breathtaking!

All of the shots were shot with Zenza Bronica ETRSi medium format camera and panoramic 135w film pack. I like the panoramic format, it is so easy to make pleasing pictures with it. The film was Portra 160. Film development and scanning by Kamerastore.com.