The International Bagpipe Festival in Strakonice and the Transformation of the Relationship Towards the Regional Bagpipe Tradition

Strakonice is a South Bohemian town closely associated with bagpipes, a connection dating to the early 19th century. The theme of the bagpipers was already harnessed by the Czech national movement of the 19th century, and revived in the folk revival movement after the Second World War. In 1967, the highly popular International Bagpipe Festival was established in Strakonice. New changes in the relationship to the bagpipe tradition can be observed since the beginning of the millennium.