Antiquities exchange, shows of the craftsman skills, concerts and performances.

This is how you may describe in a nutshell Jarmark Świętojański (St. John's Fair) which is currently under way on the Poznań Stary Rynek (Old Market).

Poland is a place of fairs which take place throughout the year in different venues and time. Thus we have fairs on Christmas and Easter, cabbage and ecological fairs. But the Poznań St. John's Fair is one of the biggest in Poland. Our Poznań St. John's Fair started on Saturday, 9 June and will last until Sunday, 17 June.
During this time the power over the city was taken over by the merchants and craftsmen. The tradition of organising fairs (the Polish 'jarmark' comes from the German 'Jahrmarkt' which means annual fair) in Poznań dates back to Middle Ages. For several days of the year on the basis of a special privilege the merchants coming to the city could trade without customs and other fees. 
The idea of organising St. John's Fair reborn in the 1970s. Then it was organised for the merchants. Only for those merchants who arrived in great numbers to the capital of the Wielkopolska region for one of a kind Poznań International Fair. 
In the next decade the fair stalls belonged to the few places that abounded in goods. According to the press of the time, the queues were formed mainly to the stalls of the cold-meat masters and the stall of the Amino company offering instant coffee – rarity and good in short supply at the time. 
In the 1990s on the Old Market square the number of stalls was decreasing, and concerts and artistic performances were becoming more important than shopping. 
Today's fair is a place completely filled with craftsmanship goods. At the fair you may buy the products of blacksmiths, tailors, shoemakers and, of course, bakers, confectioners and cold-meat masters. Also you will not miss the propositions of artistic handiwork, including wood sculptures, jewellery and wicker products. Fair is also a place cherished by the lovers of antiquities. The capital of Wielkopolska will host merchants who, like every year, will display their collections in the alleys in the middle of the Old Market. You will be able to buy there old porcelain, coins, old postcards and jewellery and historic everyday-use equipment. In order to ensure the trade's honesty and good conduct, the merchants and traders will be cared after by St. John Nepomucen who is the patron saint of good business, honesty and traders whose monument stands on the Poznań Starówka (Old Town).
After exhausting shopping you may also grab a bite. The fair is full of stalls offering traditional fair dishes. There is a lot to choose from. You can eat, for example, grilled black pudding served with fried cabbage or roasted porkshanks. There are cooks who serve traditional Polish bigos (dish made of sausage, mushrooms and sauerkraut) and pierogi, but you will also find hot-dogs and hot sandwiches.

Although the merchants receive the symbols of power, year by year the fair transforms from the trading event to the artistic one. On the two stages on the Maket – the main stage and the so-called curiosity stall – you may admire their performances. The fair atmosphere straight from the Middle Ages is provided by jugglers, puppeteers and fire eaters.
Detailed programme of the Fair's cultural events is available at the website: www.zamek.poznan.pl.





Picutres: CK Zamek (Castle Cultural Centre)