Fieldtrip: Slavic Baltimore

Judging from google searches, the biggest Slavic group in Baltimore would seem to be the Czechs. Major organizations include the Czech and Slovak Heritage Association, the Bohemian National Cemetery and a Sokol.

The Maryland Historical Society also has a special Poles are also well-organized in Baltimore, with the Polish Community of Baltimore and the Archives of Maryland Polonia. And there are a few options for Polish- and Ukrainian-style pierogies ( Citypaper: Where, oh Where are Baltimore's Pierogie?).

The Slovene presence seems to have dwindled down to just the Slovene Center Bowling Lanes & Ballroom, while refugees from elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia are breathing new life into neglected neighborhoods (Citypaper: East Side Story).

Rivaling the Czechs for a Baltimore-based web presence are the Russians (check out Citypaper: Moscow Nights: Getting Down With Baltimore's Burgeoning Eastern Bloc). There is a community site, Russian Baltimore, and there is also the Baltimore Russian Festival. Baltimore is also home to a traditional folk dance troup, Kalinka, and the Crazy Russian strip club (though it isn't clear whether there is actually anything Russian about it).

The main reason for Slavic New Yorkers to make the haul down to Baltimore this winter, though, is Sacred Arts and City Life: The Glory of Medieval Novgorod, at the Walters Art Museum from 19 November through 12 February 2006.

Novgorod, about 100 miles south of St. Petersburg, is Russia's oldest city, settled as early as 895 A.D. Its soil is particularly good for preserving organic materials, making the entire city a treasure trove for archeologists.

The Walters Art Museum is the only American venue to see this exhibit, featuring art and artifacts culled from the collections of the the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg and the Novgorod Museum Federation.

Nearly 300 objects are on display, including 35 medieval icons, ecclesiastical objects, carved wood and bone, leather goods, jewelry, musical instruments, and - perhaps the most important artifacts from Novgorod - birchbark documents. There will also be large photograhic murals documenting archeological digs in the city. The exhibit covers the 9th through 16th centuries. More info here.

The Walters Art Museum is organizing events in conjunction with the exhibit, including:

• 4 December, noon to 5:00 p.m. Between Heaven and Earth: Art and Archaeology in Medieval Novgorod. Tour of the exhibit with the curators. Free with museum admission.
• 22 January at 5:30 p.m. Following the Skomorokhi and the Bells of Novgorod. Performance of traditional music from Novgorod by the chamber group Poulenc Trio. Tickets: Members $15, non-members $30, registration required.
• 28 January, 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Smithsonian Institute January Study Tour: All Things Russian. Orrganized by the Smithsonian, the trip departs Washington D.C. from the Air and Space Museum and heads for Baltimore, where travellers will visit the Novgorod exhibit at the Walters Art Museum, followed by a three-course Russian lunch at Europe Restaurant and a visit to Washington's St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral. LEd by Anne Odom, curator emeritus at Hillwood Museum and Gardens. Tickets: general public $148.00, RAP members $102.00.

Check out the New York Times review, 'Sacred Arts and City Life.'

Previously on Slavs of New York! New York Times Fall Preview

(Map from lonelyplanet.com; Photo (below): St. George and the Dragon," State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg)