Celebration of Svantovit in Rügen

The Slavs could no longer sustain themselves in their overpopulated original homeland, so Slavic tribes set out to find a new country. That was in the period of great changes known as the migration on of peoples. In the 7th century, some Slavs had already settled along the coast of the Baltic Sea, called the Slavic Sea at the time. The remaining Celts and Germans in that area were slavicised.

Where the Oder flows into the Baltic Sea lies a large island with many lakes – Rügen. For many centuries it was inhabited by the Slavic tribe of the Rani. On the northernmost tip of the island, protected by ramparts and steep chalk cliffs, the capital, Arkona, with the temple of Slavic deity, Svantovit, was situated.

The painting shows the autumn celebration of Svantovit, during which the priests thanked the god for rich harvest and prophesied future events. Arkona was for the Slavs what Delphi was for the ancient classical world. On the right there is a procession coming out of the temple and led by the high priest. He is driving a bull in front of him, which will be sacrificed as a symbol of power. It is a sunny afternoon and the people are rejoicing, singing and dancing. Only the mother with her baby on her lap in the middle of the lower edge of the painting looks worried; perhaps she anticipates the dismal future of the Rani.

During the 1168 Crusades against the Batic Slavs, the Danes, headed by Valdemar I of Denmark, managed to conquer Arkona, tear down the temple and burn the statue of Svantovit. This event is symbolically depicted in the upper part of the painting. On the left is the Germanic god of war, Wödan with a shield, accompanied by a pack of sacred wolves. In the middle, the last Slavic warrior is dying on a sacred horse. Svantovit is taking the sword out of his hand in order to fight for his people. The group of tied people symbolises the Slavic nation ons subjugated by the Germans. The figures of the bards remind us that what we know about the Baltic Slavs comes from chronicles and legends.

At the bottom, on the right-hand side, a young woodcarver is making a new idol to replace the destroyed Svantovit statue. The darker colour tone makes the mother and son stand out from the two-dimensional painting. This pair symbolise the twilight and later demise of the Baltic Slavs.