"Janosik and others" Bukowina Tatrzanska Favorite Tip by evaanna

Fondest memory: The Sabala Folk Festival ends in a parade, where the artists ride along the village in a horse-drawn hay cart, heralded by riders on horseback and followed by a horse-drawn carriage or two for the ladies. The man at the head is dressed up as Janosik, the famous Slovak brigand, rumoured to have been robbing the wealthy to give the money to the poor. The real Janosik was executed in Liptovsky Mikulas in 1713, soon becoming a legend, extolled in poems, novels and plays. Against all evidence, Polish mountaineers of the Podhale region believe him to have been of Polish descent. The parade is a wonderful spectacle as it moves along the main street, with all the artists in their colourful traditional dress and playing their instruments.