What is "radegast"

Radegast is a small town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the smallest town in Saxony-Anhalt and is located about 13 km south of the district capital of Köthen. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Südliches Anhalt.

Radegast, also Radigost, Redigast, Riedegost or Radogost is an old, well-documented, god of Slavic mythology. Since the name can easily be etymologised as meaning something like “Dear guest” or “Gladly guest”, Radegast was proclaimed as the Slavic god of hospitality and as such entered the hypothetical, reconstructed Slavic pantheon of modern days. Even myths concerning him were constructed based on various folk customs of sacred hospitality. Similar customs, however, are known in many Indo-European mythologies without a distinct deity associated explicitly with them. Another possible etymology may be from Slavic "rada" - council, and "gościć", "hostit", "goszczący" - to host, Radogost being the name of the council or assembly host, leader, or speaker, and one of the attributes of the god. This view could be supported by the political role Radegast temple played in the life of West Slavic tribes. According to some literary sources he is also the god of war, night, fire and the evening sky. He likes to invite to the banquets, is completely black and is armed with a spear and helmet.

Radegast may refer to:

• Radegast, a small town in Germany
• Radegast (god), a Slavic god, and Radgosc a historical Lutician city
• Radegast (medieval settlement), also known as Radgosc or Rethra, an ancient Slavic town in Mecklenburg
• Radagast (Middle-earth), a fictional wizard created by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Radegast (beer), a Czech beer
• Radegast station, a former train station which has been transformed into a Holocaust memorial, located in the Polish city of Łódź

Radegast is a Czech beer brewed in Nošovice, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic since 1970. The beer is named after the god Radegast. Stemming from the name for the beer is the slogan: "Život je hořký: Bohudík", a Czech phrase which translates into English as "Life is bitter: Thank God" (in reference to the beer's "bitter" taste).

The brewery is owned by Pilsner Urquell (since 1999), which is, in turn, owned by SABMiller.