Between July 1-4 2021, Oradea Fortress will host the XI World Championship in Historical Medieval Battle, which is the biggest sport and medieval culture global event with a unique, globally unmatched concept. Oradea was chosen as the host city over other candidates after the final stage of the host city race, including cities from Italy, France, Switzerland, Serbia and Russia.

Historical Medieval Battle (HMB) is a very historically and culturally related sport which is a full-contact martial art using armour and steel weapons. All the equipment used by the sportsmen is not only designed for sport needs, it is a reconstruction of arms and armour used in the period by medieval warriors. So you don’t just see sportsmen on the battlefield, you see knights as they really looked like in the Middle Ages.

The first World HMB Championship Battle of the Nations was held in 2010 in Ukraine, and since then, it visited castles and fortresses of Poland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and Serbia.

Today, Battle of the Nations is the biggest sport and medieval culture event on the planet with almost 1000 fighters from more than 40 countries participating in 17 official duel and mass categories, more than 20,000 visitors and tourists gathering   for several days especially for this unique and exciting spectacle, and over 1 million people following the event online via featured social media and TV channels.

Each year Battle of the Nations brings something new for its followers. In 2019 it was a glorious mass battle of 150vs150. With 300 fighters in the field, the viewers were able to experience the true spirit of medieval warfare, to see true courage of the fighters and strategic art of the commanders.

The city of Oradea is a newly discovered jewell of Romania, and  the Oradea Fortress will follow traditions of the Battle of the Nations venues with rich Medieval history.  Not to mention the fact that this land is veiled with several legends, the place is actually the guard of the chivalry spirit as the tombstone of Sigismund of Luxembourg is located here – Hungarian king, subsequently Roman Emperor and founder of the knightly Order of the Dragon. Twenty-four of the most worthy of European knights, personalities characterized with high moral principles, elite in the broadest sense of the concept, were members of the First Order of the Dragon. Time has come to pay respect to the noble ancestors of the city and fill the air with sword songs of full-contact battles which make every visitor’s heart skip a beat.