Our ancestors in the Middle Ages did not have as much free time as we do, but they also managed to have fun and play. How? You will learn this when you visit the new exhibition The World of Medieval Games, which has been running since November 25 at the Kinské Castle in Valašské Meziříčí. As is our custom, you can not only watch, but also try out most of the games.

Today's concepts of "leisure" or "hobby" were unknown to the vast majority of the medieval population. The medieval man had to dedicate oneself mainly to work and, during one's free days, to devotions. These days were, despite the perceptions of a harsh and dark Middle Ages, approximately only 70 in the calendar year. This amount of time, during which the Church forbade work, already created space for fun and active recreation even for people from the lowest social classes. Moreover, with the continuously improving economic situation in Europe, some groups of people (nobility, church members and townspeople) did not have to worry about securing their livelihood on a daily basis. This led to the development of various social and individual activities that could already be described as leisure time enjoyment. A relatively large part of these activities were based on the social role of the group (e.g. a nobleman preferred hunting and participating in a knightly tournament), but for example board (often gambling) games or a passion for music were popular in every society, not excluding ecclesiastical circles.

It is also necessary to mention the most frequent lovers of games and toys – children.  They were not at all different from today's children, if they managed to get a moment to themselves. Heroes of their games were clay horses and wooden dolls instead of a tablet or a mobile phone as we see at our times.