First Knights' Festival in Mělník

The organizing committee has prepared a truly varied palette of snippets of the history of the Czech nation, great musical performances, gastronomy, wines and charity. The opening of the festival took place in the castle café in the spirit of welcome drink frizzante Vajbar Winery and canapés.

A grandiose procession of more than 100 people led by historical knights and musicians marched through the streets of Mělník to the Church of St. Peter and Paul. The organ concert of Prof. Michal Novenko - "Around the wine world" - was the opening song. The highlight of the celebration was the handing over of the sword - a personal gift of the first proconsul of the Eques OKT, Petr Marcinčák, to the newly formed Legatus Bohemia.

After the tour of the chateau, Jiří Jan Lobkowicz personally welcomed the guests in the concert hall and invited them to a musical performance by the Cello Republic Cello Quartet, which played well-known melodies from various periods - from the Sabre Dance, through Monti's Chardonnay to Bohemian Rhapsody. This was followed by a wine tasting in the 14th century cellars of Chateau Mělník.

The wine knights and their guests spent the whole evening in the chateau restaurant and on the terraces above the river. A rich buffet was prepared, which was complemented by a large presentation of wines from Czech winemakers. Importers of wines from Portugal, Chile and Spain also made guest appearances. Guests were also delighted with mixed drinks from Alkohol.cz and craft beer from the Němý medvěd brewery in Mělník.

The highlight of the evening was the charity raffle, the proceeds of which over 60 thousand crowns were donated to a disabled boy, four-year-old Patrick from Mělník, who was taken over by his mother and will be used for much-needed occupational therapy.

And what did the main person of the evening Branko Černý have to say? "Thank you very much to everyone who bought raffle tickets and contributed to Patrick and to the donors of the prizes. And even more thanks to everyone who helped with the organization of such a demanding event. The biggest thanks go to Ctirad Mikeš, Ludvík Šald, Tomáš Matějovský and the Weitosch family. And even if some things went a bit wrong, we hope to see you again next year".