It has been ten years since the first Knife Festival took place in Mikulášovice on May 12, 2012. Since then, the festival has not been held regularly every year; the longest hiatus was caused by the recent coronavirus pandemic, so this year, on August 6, only the 7th edition took place. How was it?
The venue was new. In conjunction with the 90th anniversary of the Mikulášovice swimming pool, the festival moved from the Mikov courtyard and the town center to the sports complex. Thanks to this, the festival was able to offer many new features, although the connection to Mikov naturally remained.
What did not change, however—or rather, what was further strengthened—was the support from the town, led by Mayor Miluše Trojanová, as well as from the Mikov company and its director, Karel Ježek. And this was by no means limited to financial and organizational support; they also lent their names to the event, which helped attract prominent figures to Mikulášovice. But all of this would have been far from enough to ensure success if dozens of other enthusiasts, led by the festival’s driving force, Petr Procházka, hadn’t gotten involved in the preparations.
The Knife-Making Festival is a grand celebration of the fact that high-quality knife-making craftsmanship still thrives in Mikulášovice and that the town can count itself among the world’s leading centers of this craft. This is by no means a given, as this craft has already disappeared in many European cities under the pressure of globalization; in Mikulášovice, it continues only thanks to the dedication of the Mikov company, which—through the quality of its products—has managed not only to maintain its position in the domestic market but also to break into international markets. The Predator, UTON, Pocket, and, of course, Rybička knife lines are well-established brands in the cutlery market.
That’s why knives were, of course, the main focus of the Knife Festival. The now-traditional participation of the Czech Army, featuring excellent demonstrations of man-to-man knife fighting, was naturally a highlight again this year. However, this year also featured a demonstration of combat techniques by military chemists from Liberec and an army recruitment booth.
And thanks to the festival, Mikulášovice was able to welcome its second visit from a general in the last two years. While last year, on the occasion of the awarding of Honorary Badges to Mikov’s management, Chief of the General Staff Aleš Opata toured the production facilities; this year’s festivities were attended by Lenka Šmerdová, the first female general in the Czech Army, who is responsible, among other things, for the care of war veterans within the military. Mikov is involved in this effort through the “War Veteran” project, in which it contributes proceeds from sales of the Storm and Repetitor knives to the Military Solidarity Fund.
In addition to the army, there were, of course, historical fencing demonstrations by the Alotrium group; Lubomír Žižka, a multiple European champion in knife throwing, also showcased his skills; and racer Ondřej Klymčiw shared his experiences from the Paris Rally - Dakar. Local Mikulášovice clubs, of course, also had their own booths there. Professional divers put on an interesting show, as did the volunteer fire department, which demonstrated the new Mikova-Rescue rescue knife in action during a training exercise.
A brand-new addition to the festivities was a pair of soccer matches. First, the Sparta B girls’ soccer club faced off against the FK Mikulášovice A team (which defeated the girls 3–1), and then the Mikulášovice veterans put up a valiant fight against a selection of players led by international star Jan Berger. Here, the result was exactly the opposite: Mikulášovice lost 1–3. It was no surprise, since alongside Jan Berger, they were up against true legends such as Ladislav Vízek, Tomáš Řepka, and Lubomír Mistr.
However, these soccer matches weren’t just some way to pass the time; they were directly related to knives—specifically, the new Mikov collector’s edition of knives called “Soccer Legends.” Currently, three knives from this series are already on the market—those of Lubomír Mistr, Jan Berger, and Jan Koller, the latter of which made its debut during the all-star game. The entire collection was available for purchase at the Mikov sales booth. And for those who weren’t interested in the collection, there was a wide selection from the full product range to choose from.
As is tradition, the Knife Festival stretched into the night with a rich cultural program. And as over a thousand visitors headed home that evening, everyone was already looking forward to what the next editions would bring. They’ll have their work cut out for them, because this year’s festival set the bar very high—not only with record attendance but also with the sheer number of enthusiastic reactions from visitors and performers alike. So, see you again on the first weekend of August 2023.