A 1954 metal spartakiad pin from former Czechoslovakia, it is 2.5cm high and has a long, stick pin style fastener to the rear.
This is a rare DSO Tatran spartakiad pin, DSO were the sports body for the region of Presov, from the very first Czech spartakiad. What happened throughout Czechoslovakia is that each region held its own spartakiad to perfect their performance before moving to the main event in Prague. The regional events were held to select participants, hone their skills and practise and they took great pride in representing their home town. They were on a fairly large scale depending on the region in question (up to a thousand athletes from a large city). But because the regions are much smaller than the main event in Prague, these regional pins are much rarer.
Historical Background
The Spartakiads were named after Spartacus, the slave gladiator who rebelled against his Roman captors. Spartacus was thought to encapsulate the spirit of the proletariat.
The first spartakiads were held in the Soviet Union in the 1920's and were international events that were created to appeal to every man, not just selected athletes.
Czechoslovakia held its first spartakiad in 1955 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Soviet liberation.
The events were held at the gigantic, purpose built Strahov stadium in Prague and were witnessed by up to 2 million spectators. Typically there were around 750,000 participants from schools, the armed forces and youth groups. The event would take the form of coordinated movements, sometimes with streamers or balls and were very impressive sights to witness.
The last spartakiad was held in 1990, one year after the velvet revolution.
