Medieval times and a mobile medieval daycare unit

Germans have found more room for festivals in summer, with various medieval themed events all over the country. Though you do not have to limit the adventure to Germany, try, for instance this one in the Austrian town of Mauterndorf.

Staying closer to home, we did some research and found the vast majority of these events go back no further than 20 to 25 years, give or take. The immediate question "why at that time" has several answers. We are not trying to be comprehensive but a few things come to mind. First, there was a stagnating economy in much of Germany around and after re-unification, lots of people with little to do after several decades of being very busy.
Then there is an unspoken aspect of history themed festivals and events having been somewhat poisoned during the time prior to that.
For an example, see one of the all time top posts on this blog. You'll know which one as soon as you browse the list in the sidebar.

The current medieval festivals are quite different from whatever real or - mostly - imagined history prevailed before them.
Much of what you in the modern incarnation has a teaching aspect. Many of the old crafts are demonstrated by eager and skilled volunteers or by some of the last surviving practitioners.
Blacksmithing, for example, is one of these crafts. While endangered, it has been adopted by the art community and is faring pretty well as opposed to, say, the waddle and daub builders or the weavers.
Some shoemakers pushed out of shops and malls by modern sneakers manufacturers have found the making of medieval style footwear to be a good way to continue the craft.
The shoemakers we have seen go for a minimalist product, unlike some of our American friends who produce fully custom made shoes using a variety of leathers and styles and let you submit your own designs.

Jewelry, from cheap Chinese made to 1000 Euro plus local jewelry, bows and arrows, period style clothing and more "stuff" is all there, of course, too.

Medieval festivals have been great venues for traditional music and folk song but they also cater to modern tastes with medieval fusion or, as we called in an earlier post, medieval heavy metal.

Lots of food and drink, but no drinking water fountains, round out the event. Some artisanal cheesemakers even bring a couple of goats for kids and adults to marvel at.

We stood near this cage for a while to see how Germans would react to our "oh, honey, look, a medieval mobile day care unit". And indeed, we saw all reactions ranging from barely contained upset at the quip to some very wide grins.

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One downer we want to mention is this: we may be seeing a saturation point, with some festivals going from annual to every other year and attendance and spending down.

The one enduring mystery we have not resolved after years of medieval festivals is this: how on earth do Germans manage to eat the very high fat crispy roasted pork knuckles in 90 F/30 C heat without keeling over on the spot?