POLAND: Lublin plays host to the medieval Jagiellonian Fair
- 00:01:23
- ITN Source
POLAND: Lublin plays host to the medieval Jagiellonian Fair
In the 15th century, the Polish city of Lublin was a place of great prosperity and trade as merchants flocked to the city to sell their goods. The annual Jagiellonian Fair is a reminder of how the city was once the great gateway of Europe, as Persians, Englishmen, Turks, Czechs and traders from Moravia travelled here to sell at the market. Everything from meat, vegetables and fruit, and spices could be bought at the Lublin market but if that wasn't enough, whole cattles and horses were also on offer. As in the Middle Ages, traders and craftsmen have taken over the Old Town, showcasing : wax seals, a replica of Gutenberg's printing press, Easter egg decorating from the Ukraine, and a 200-year-old loom from Belarus. The organiser of the fair said he hopes the city will be restored to its former glory. "We will do our best in this city so that Lublin can once again become the European Union's Gateway to the East. Therefore cultural contacts, both commercial and traditional will be exchanged and grow here," said Rafal "Koza" Kozinski, the Jagiellonian Fair organiser. "Lublin belonged to great, European fair centres. Traders from Europe and Asia used to meet here. Even well-known middle-class families from Cracow moved here to Lublin in order to take part in trade exchange with the East in a more active way," said Janusz Kopaczek, from the Association "West-East" in Lublin. Knights participated in a joust but unlike in medieval times where they risked life and limb to salvage their honour, this duel was simply for the spectators.
ITN Source | August 29, 2007
