The Kings' Ride in Doloplazy

History of the Kings' Ride

The Ride of Kings has a historical background. Over the centuries, it keeps the memory of our memories deep in our national past. This ancient folk custom was maintained (as witnessed by records in the archives and judicial acts) for hundreds of years in Moravian Slovakia and Haná. The princes and later the royal prisoners, necessary to maintain the king's armed power and redeem the cargo of his court, were exalted to the well-off people for good and evil. If the bearer of the devil was reluctant to pay, he was punished by the forced feeding of the king's troops either by lying in or out of the countryside - and soldiers, regardless of the need of the population, were able to eat the towns and the surrounding villages completely.

In turbulent times, Moravia was divided into a sacred priesthood. The members of the royal family muttered to each other and caused frequent rebellions against the king, and this resulted in the criminal strikes that suffered the most. Frequent raids were carried out in Moravia from the Hungarian border. In such circumstances, the prince or king, after an unfortunate encounter with a stronger adversary, traveled in disguise (in women's costume and with a rose in his mouth) with a small group of his most faithful lands to escape his pursuers. Such events were imprinted in the memory of the subjugated people. Folk poetry has transformed their own, not without a certain amount of peculiar humor and irony. This is apparent both from the whole order of the custom and from every sentence of the royal announcers.

On Monday morning, from the Moravian villages, dozens of the most prolific young men on the most prestigious horses (who were the greatest pride of every good farmer) were leaving to accompany their "king" on his way around. At the same time, they attempted to strike a foreign "enemy king", for which they demanded a high-level ransom equal to the horse's price. It was a struggle that did not always end well because the boys were armed. This was the case, for example, at Halenkovic, Ivanovic, on Určice Plain. In 1819, four royal seniors met with an unfortunate accident on the hunting pastures of Přerov, who called each other to take the king into captivity. Of course, none of these calls made it possible, and there was a real battle between the Moorish and Broadbeans on the one hand and the lovers on the other. The result was more than tragic. Out of the 80 boys left barely 10 injuries. There were 8 dead and 20 seriously injured.

The Gubernian authorities banned the carrying of firearms at the "Rides", and in 1835 the weapons and stabbing weapons. Similar events caused the kings of Hanoi to lose their time in popularity and, in the course of time, fell into oblivion. But whether this sad memory or not, it is true that the grown-ups of the national costumes, sitting on the noble horses, have been and still remain the most beautiful spectacle and a deep, unforgettable experience that our native country can give us.