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This year the Jagiellonian Fair will be held for the third time, but it has already become one of the most recognizable events in Lublin. Today its organizers from the local Culture Centre admit that without the EU money the fair would not have gathered such momentum.

‘The fair was our idea for making the local cultural scene more lively in summer. Earlier, this period of the year, when students go away for holidays, was widely believed to be a bad time for holding big events. We didn’t share that belief and wanted to dispel the myth,’ says Grzegorz Rzepecki, head of the fair. EU subsidies apart, the success was possible thanks to an excellent team, focus on high-quality repertoire and cooperation with foreign partners. ‘The fair is not only a commercial event, but also an opportunity for cultures to mingle. It allowed us to establish closer relations between the towns in the Lublin region and Lvov, Lutsk and Brest, Ukraine, to explore together the heritage of East and West,’ adds Piotr Zieniuk, co-ordinator of the fair.

The event draws upon the famous fairs held here in the 15th and 16th centuries. At that time, Lublin attracted merchants not only from the whole Poland, but also from the most remote places in Europe and other parts of the world. The city was the main trade centre for such goods as Hungarian wine or grain and oxen from Ukraine and Volhynia. As trading intensified, more and more workshops and stores opened, which resulted in rapid economic development of the city and region.

In the 21st century, very much like under the Jagiellonians, every August Lublin becomes a meeting place for artists and craftspeople from Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and many other European countries. All the participants share the same love of the traditional arts and crafts, and their presence in Lublin proves that traditional folk art, with its original forms, is alive and well. The craftspeople who come to the fair show the visitors their unique pottery, smithing, weaving, papercutting, braiding, embroidery, sculpting and painting techniques, holding demonstrations and workshops where everyone can try their hand. Following its tradition, the fair has also plenty of other attractions, shows and entertainment. There are music concerts, knightly tournaments and traditional Polish games including the palant (a kind of stickball). The fair has indeed become a major event on Lublin’s cultural scene.