15 atmospheric photos from the LIFE archive for the Woodstock anniversary

50 years ago, from August 15 to 18, 1969, in Woodstock, New York, the music festival "Fair of Music and Arts" or simply Woodstock was held — and it was one of the most grandiose events in the history of culture of the twentieth century. Then there were bigger and more interesting festivals in musical terms, but it was Woodstock that became the standard.

Woodstock became a household name, although the festival with this name was held not in the town of Woodstock, as originally planned, but on the bucolic hillside owned by dairy farmer Max Yasgur.

The three days of the legendary festival are considered to be the end of the hippie era and the beginning of the sexual revolution. "Woodstock" became a festival without borders in the truest sense: on the night of August 15, the organizers decided to completely remove the barriers.