The Medieval Festival (Viduramžių šventė) is the most important annual event of the Trakai History Museum, which has organised it at the Island Castle on Lake Galvė since 1998 as a living-history reconstruction of medieval life in an authentic setting. After a two-year pandemic break the 24th edition in June 2022 was dedicated to Trakai’s 700th anniversary; the 2026 edition moved to the weekend of 11–12 July, running 10:00–19:00 on both days.
Craftspeople work in the castle courtyards throughout the weekend (pottery firing, bookbinding, jewellery, leatherwork, woodcarving, blacksmithing and textiles), with craft and military ‘educations’ for visitors, ancient board games and children’s contests. The 2026 programme included medieval music by Ambera and Hansanova, dances by the early-dance troupe Festa Cortese, a street-circus act by actor Viačeslavas Mickevičius, the Vilnius Puppet Theatre, and presentations of Grand Duchy of Lithuania arms and armour of the 14th–15th centuries with combat displays by the clubs Vilkatlakai, Varingis and Vendes Komturia, plus lectures and concerts.
The festival has its own ticket, separate from normal castle admission: €10 for adults and €5 for pupils, students and seniors in 2026. A different event, ‘The Living Middle Ages’ at the Peninsula Castle on the mainland (20 June 2026), is organised by the Trakai culture centre and should not be confused with the museum’s festival.
Trakai is 28 km west of Vilnius, about 35 minutes by train or 40 minutes by bus, and the castle is reached by footbridges from the lakeshore. Arrive early on festival days, as the island fills up; the town’s Karaim community is known for kibinai, meat-filled pastries sold along Karaimų street.
