Out of the mists of time came forth volunteers from Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey. They formed their encampment on the sports field in Asparhov Park and at 15:30 on Saturday 14th November battle commenced. In fact the actual battle took place on the 10th of November 1444, the re-enactment takes place on the nearest Saturday every year. The site of actual battle was on the plain, now the home of the Park-museum
"VLADISLAV VARNENCHIK",
to the west of Varna about 7 km from the harbour. It would appear that a defensive strategy on the part of the crusaders whilst Christian reinforcements arrived by sea would probably have changed the course of history.
As it was 'death and glory' won out and changed the course of history in the Balkans subduing them to Ottoman rule for centuries to come. I am not going into detail here. There are several places on the internet giving detailed descriptions of the battle and the aftermath
Wikipedia amongst them. Suffice it to say that I have just spent £18.00 on a book, published by Cambridge University Press on the history of Bulgaria as a result of trying to fathom out this country! I will say that I will be visiting the site and the museum soon so watch this space for a follow up.
My photo album
'1444 Battle of Varna' shows the lifestyle, costume and the re-enactment of the battle as far as is possible under the circumstances of time and place. Some of the crusaders tried to retreat to across the river to the the small fortress of Galata on the other side of the bay. This is the fort which I took a photo of yesterday. Most of the Christian forces were slain on the marshlands which now constitute much of Varna city itself.
The re-enactment published to commence at 15:30 took place reasonably on time and, as always, with these societies occurred in realistic fashion. It was even more interesting for me to observe the different costume and accoutrements of the time. The Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II commanded his father Murad II to lead an army of some 50,000 men against a Christian army of some 20-30,000 crusaders.
This force, ultimately led by King Władysław III and a nobleman called Hunyadi, was composed of Hungarian, Polish, Bohemian and Wallachian forces, assisted by Papal and Teutonic Knights, Czechs, Bosnians, Croatians, Bulgarians, Lithuanians and Ukrainians (then known as Ruthenians). Of course no re-enactment can put that many men in the field but you get the flavour and excitement of the battle with the bloodthirsty aftermath as the Christian encampment is sacked.
It occurs to me that I have now seen re-enactments of various battles in England, Spain, the USA and Thailand, Living history for all of those people, worldwide, who take part in such events. Their dedication and attention to detail, these costumes come at considerable expense, and willingness to travel are greatly appreciated.
View my photo album
'1444 Battle of Varna' here or see it as a
'Slideshow' , enjoy.
The re-enactment published to commence at 15:30 took place reasonably on time and, as always, with these societies occurred in realistic fashion. It was even more interesting for me to observe the different costume and accoutrements of the time. The Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II commanded his father Murad II to lead an army of some 50,000 men against a Christian army of some 20-30,000 crusaders. 
This force, ultimately led by King Władysław III and a nobleman called Hunyadi, was composed of Hungarian, Polish, Bohemian and Wallachian forces, assisted by Papal and Teutonic Knights, Czechs, Bosnians, Croatians, Bulgarians, Lithuanians and Ukrainians (then known as Ruthenians). Of course no re-enactment can put that many men in the field but you get the flavour and excitement of the battle with the bloodthirsty aftermath as the Christian encampment is sacked.
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