World Sokol Federation

World Sokol Federation
Formation14 August 1925 (1925-08-14)
Founded atWarsaw, Poland
TypeSports and cultural federation
HeadquartersPrague
Membership14
Official language
English, Czech
Websiteworld-sokol.eu

The World Sokol Federation, (WSF; Czech: Světový svaz sokolstva; Polish: Związek Sokolstwa Słowiańskiego) is an international federation that oversees national organizations of the Sokol Gymnastic Society.

Slavic Sokol Federation 1908–1915

The Sokol movement originated in Prague on 16 February 1862, when Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner established the first Sokol Gymnastic Society as a response to the cultural and national awakening among Czechs under Habsburg rule.[1]

Between 1908 and 1915, the Slavic Sokol Federation (Svaz Slovanského sokolstva) operated, but its scope encompassed almost exclusively Sokol organizations active within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.[2][3] On 24 November 1915, the Ministry of the Interior of Austria-Hungary issued a decree dissolving the Svaz Slovanského Sokolstva on charges of anti-state activities.[4]

With the end of World War I, most of its members were incorporated into organizations operating in the states formed after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, aligning with the post-World War I reorganization of Sokol groups in newly independent states such as Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Poland.[5]

History (1925–1939)

At the end of November 1920, the Yugoslav Sokol met with the Czechoslovak Sokol in Ljubljana to establish the Union of Czechoslovak and Yugoslav Sokol as a forerunner of the World Sokol Federation.[6] At the Yugoslav Sokols' slet in 1924, the matter of establishing a joint organization was revisited. To this end, an organizing committee was established to prepare the new organization's statute and the first congress. Adam Zamoyski was appointed chairman of the committee.[7]

In 1925, an official Sokol federation was established in Warsaw. It operated from 1925 to 1939. Until 1939 included organizations from Poland, Czechoslovakia, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (from 1929 the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), Bulgaria, the Serbo-Lusatian "Sokół", the Union of Russian Sokols in Emigration, and the Slavic Sokol Union in America.[8] Its activities were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II.

During the communist period, the Sokol movement was prohibited in the territories of the socialist bloc countries, for example in Czechoslovakia[9] It continued to exist through Sokol organizations abroad (Western Europe, the United States, Canada).[10]

Modern era

After contacts with international Sokol organizations were re-established following the revival of Sokol in Czechoslovakia in 1990, the World Sokol Federation was formally established on 31 January 1994, pursuant to a decision by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic[11][12]

It currently associates 14 Sokol organizations from 18 countries worldwide. The federation's headquarters is located in Prague. The World Sokol Federation reportedly has around 250,000 members[13][14][15]

Commemoration

In 2025, during an event held in Poland to celebrate the centenary of its existence, an international popular-science conference titled "On the Wings of Falcons, Let Us Lift This World" ("Na skrzydłach sokolich podnośmy ten świat") was held[16]

References

  1. ^ Nolte 2002.
  2. ^ Kouřil, Jiří (13 July 2015). "Příčiny zrušení České obce sokolské 8. října 1941" [The causes for the cancellation of the Česká Obec Sokolská on 8 October 1941]. Studia sportiva. 9 (1): 114–124. doi:10.5817/StS2015-1-13 – via journals.muni.cz.
  3. ^ Chalupa, Aleš; Rybáková, Danuše; Swierczeková, Lucie, eds. (2012). "Sokol 1862 – 2012 + {Archiv sportu a tv, inventář č. 50 NAD č. 170}" [Sokol 1862 - 2012 and beyond (Sports and TV Archive, inventory no. 50, NAD no. 170)] (PDF) (in Czech) (1st pub. 1992 ed.). Prague: National Museum. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  4. ^ Kašpar, Adam (10 October 2018). Sokol v proměnách času [The Sokol through the ages (defended thesis)] (Thesis) (in Czech). Prague: Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 August 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  5. ^ "Zarys historii: Towarzystwa Gimnastycznego "Sokół" – w 150. rocznicę powstania (1867–2017)" [A brief history of the "Sokół" Gymnastics Society – on the 150th Anniversary of its Founding (1867–2017)] (PDF) (in Polish). Warsaw: Senate of Poland - library publications. 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  6. ^ https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/310229?utm_source=chatgpt.com
  7. ^ Jerzy Chełmecki, Związek Sokolstwa Słowiańskiego próbą regionalnego sojuszu organizacji gimnastycznych narodów słowiańskich w okresie międzywojennym [The World Sokol Federation as an Attempt at a Regional Alliance of Gymnastic Organizations of Slavic Nations in the Interwar Period] (in Polish). Regiony w Europie, Lublin 2018: pp. 36-37.
  8. ^ Agnieszka Mirkiewicz, Gymnastic Society "Sokół" in the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939), Rzeszów 2017, pp. 315–316.
  9. ^ Nolte 2002, p. 179-184.
  10. ^ "Sokol v zahraničí" [Sokol Abroad (Sokol organisations outside Czechoslovakia)]. Česká obec sokolská (in Czech). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  11. ^ "History of Sokol". Sokol Museum. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  12. ^ "Federation bylaws" (PDF). World Sokol Federation. November 2019.
  13. ^ "World Sokol Federation directory". World Sokol Federation. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  14. ^ "Basic information on the World Sokol Federation". World Sokol Federation. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Světový svaz sokolstva spolek, Praha IČO 65999380 - Obchodní rejstřík firem" [World Sokol Federation, Prague company IČO 65999380, commercial register (organisation registration information)]. Kurzy.cz (in Czech). 31 January 1994. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Archiwum IPN na XI Zlocie Sokolstwa Polskiego – Brodnica, 19–22 czerwca 2025" [IPN news archive: At the 11th Polish Sokol Rally – Brodnica, 19–22 June 2025] (in Polish). Warsaw: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (Institute of National Remembrance). 6 June 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2026.

Further reading

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