Hobbit fans gather in their hundreds to re-enact massive battle scene in Czech forest

Updated

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Hobbit enthusiasts charge into battle in Czech Republic (ABC News)

In the heart of a Czech forest, close to 1,000 Hobbit fans gathered dressed as their favourite characters to re-enact an epic battle from the classic JRR Tolkien novel.

Participants dressed up as elf archers, goblins, orcs, wargs, or Men of Dale, and battled it out using realistic-looking weapons made of wood and fibreglass.

According to the organisers website, victory is determined by the successful fulfilment of certain tasks, such as "securing strategically important ford" or "strongest cast".

The Battle of Five Armies re-enactment, which has taken place every year since 2000, was staged in a forest near small vacation town Doksy in the Czech Republic.

In Tolkien's novel, the battle takes place at the foot of the Lonely Mountain, and was also portrayed in the 2014 film The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

ABC/Reuters

Topics: human-interest, offbeat, czech-republic

First posted