2016-06-14 Tue

From July 1946 onwards, the International Folklore Festival Strážnice, also popularly known as called “Czechoslovakia through Dancing and Singing” has been taking place annually. Along with this festival, a special event for children is organised in this South Moravian town. Apart from traditional folklore, artistic interpretations of the same are showcased through 30 events at the National Institute of Folk Culture. To commemorate this world-famous festival, the Czech Post released a lovely stamp depicting a joyful dancer this month.

The stamp features a young man in a folk costume from the Podluží performing the “verbu?k” recruit dance. Young men cadets who have just joined the military service, perform this unique dance. UNESCO cultural heritage listed this dance-form in 2005 as it requires performers to both dance and sing equally. The annual folklore festival in Strážnice is where the main competition in “verbu?k” takes place.

The festival was earlier considered to be a significant part of the regional folklore movements in southeast Moravia which consequently became a national event. The festival has evolved over the years and has taken different forms as per the changing political and social circumstances.