Saint John's Fair ( Polish: ''Jarmark Świętojański'') is a cultural and commercial event taking place in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, traditionally in the second half of

June June is the sixth and current month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. Its length is 30 days. June succeeds May and precedes July. This month marks the start of su ...

, on the Old Market Square and adjacent streets. The tradition of fairs dates back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (although they were held earlier), when there was the greatest flourishing fair trade in Poznań. At that time, the Market Square attracted merchants from various, often very distant, European countries. The largest fair took place around 24 June, on St. John's Day, and the subject of trade was then mainly grain and

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

. After the collapse of the trade in these articles, the fairs fell into decline, especially at the beginning of the 18th century. It was reopened in 1780 by the Good Order Commission. The 19th century caused that the fairs also gained a social function and became the time of meetings of the

Wielkopolska Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

landowners (they were called St John's Day contracts). Numerous balls were held at that time, theatres and dancers arrived. The tradition was revived in 1975 on the initiative of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Andrzej Wituski (inspired by the appearance of

Grand-Place The (French language, French, ; "Grand Square"; also used in English) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ; "Big Market") is the central Town square, square of Brussels, Belgium. It is surrounded by opulent Baroque architecture, Baroque guildhalls of ...

in Brussels) and temporarily connected with the organization of the Poznań International Fair. At that time, state trade prevailed and one could buy scarce goods, which were absent from the shelves of shops on ordinary days. Nowadays, the fair is an arena for trade in handicrafts, regional food and antiques. It is accompanied by numerous festivals and cultural performances, mainly musical. It is one of the magnets that attracts tourists.

References

Literature

* Łęcki W., Maluśkiewicz P., Poznań od A do Z, Poznań: KAW, 1986, s. 53, , OCLC 835895412. * Włodzimierz Łęcki, Poznań - przewodnik po zabytkach i osobliwościach miasta dla przybyszów z dalszych i bliższych stron, wyd. Zysk i S-ka, Poznań, 2010, s.32, History of Poznań Fairs in Poland 1975 establishments in Poland Tourist attractions in Poznań Culture of Greater Poland Voivodeship {{Poznań