Roman Games are back

In the exteriors of the ancient site, you will be able to meet the Roman legionnaires and proud Roman ladies, as well as get to know the life, customs and traditions of the Romans who have lived for 400 years also in Slovakia.

You will be greeted again by revived inhabitants and legionnaires from the ancient Gerulata, who will tell you in stories about the history, various facts from the time of the mighty Roman Empire, but also interesting facts from life in individual parts of Gerulata, which once lied at almost all the current area of Rusovce.

Family entertainment with competitions and a program of legionnaires and gladiators promises the acquisition of new knowledge, pleasure and experience. You can also literally smell the ingredients traditionally used in Roman cuisine and experience a parade from Gerulata to the Russian park, legionnaire training or ancient dances.

Even before the Roman Days, from September 7th to 10th, there will be a 4-day educational and experience camp for ten and eleven-year-old children who learned about the history of antiquity, namely the ancient Roman Empire. Children from Rusoviec, Petronell Carnuntum in Austria and the royal town of Velvary in Czechia will participate in this cultural and educational cross-border camp. This will not be just a camp for a closed group of 45 children, its conclusion will be a period parade for the general public.

On Saturday, September 10th, you will see the jubilee XXVth edition of the Roman Games in the park of the manor house in Rusovce, where a replica of the Roman town will grow. During the festivities, you will get to know the individual areas of life and the thinking of people in ancient Rome. Thanks to them, you will see the old Romans not only as a warrior nation, but also as cultural people engaged in art, philosophy and known for a unique culture of eating or dressing.

You can look forward to a rich experience cultural program with competitions for families, legionnaires and gladiators will perform here, and through experience and cognitive competition you will also discover new knowledge from the life of the population and legionnaires from the ancient Gerulata. The program will also include a parade of the Association of Old Martial Arts and Crafts Tostabur, which will cross the Hungarian street to the Gerulata Museum. It will present more than one hundred performers from Slovakia, Czechia, Poland and Germany, including horses, fighting cars, chariots, musicians and a host.

This day, the heroic myths of ancient Rome, gladiatorial battles for life and death, the art of charioting of ancient Rome, the main program with all performers and riders about the slave rebellion, or the concert of contemporary music will come to life in front of your eyes.

In addition, you will find the period camp of Roman soldiers and civilians with craftsmen and Roman cuisine, the period camp of barbarians depicting the period life and the period Sarmatian camp in Rusovce.

At the entertainment and educational stands you will be able to try aiming the bridge over the valley, rectangular setting of the camp aisles, firing from a catapult model for a miniature fortification, aiming and firing at a target from the Roman “arbalest”, try dressing the toga, but also verify the daily duties of the legionnaire, his arms and equipment, and especially how much he had to carry during the daily march.

You will also see examples of training and listen to Roman literature and poetry, as well as Roman sapience in short texts and anecdotes or a lecture by a fencing master. Haruspics, augurs and druids will introduce you to the secrets of ancient mysticism through Celtic and Roman horoscopes and divination, but also Celtic health training in practice.

An international conference entitled ‘Romans and the Ancient World in the 21st Century’ will be held on Sunday 11 September, with the participation of foreign experts from Hungary, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Serbia, Croatia, Austria and Slovenia. The invited lecturers are representatives of such important cultural institutions as Aquincumi Museum és Régészeti Park at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, Augusta Raurica Museum in Switzerland, Römerkastell Saalburg in Germany, Museo archeologico nazionale Aquileia in Italy, Roman town of Viminacium in Serbia, Andautonia Archaeological Park at the Croatian Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, Aguntum Archaeological Park in Austria and Emona Archaeological Park in Ljubljana. The conference focuses on representatives of public and state administration concerned with the subject of the Roman cultural heritage and its potential for tourism.

Come to Bratislava’s Rusovce to travel back to the glorious times of the Roman Empire and enjoy the second Saturday in September by returning to antiquity.