The annual St. Dominic's Fair opened on Saturday in the Polish Baltic city of Gdańsk for the 762nd time. The fair traditionally begins on the last Saturday in July and continues in the city’s Old Town district for about a month. This is one of the biggest and oldest such events in Europe.
One of the oldest written records of the event dates to the 16th century, when Papal Nuncio Giulio Ruggieri reported: "The great St. Dominic's Fair gathers Germans, French, Flemish, English, Spaniards and Portuguese, with 400 ships in the port, laden with French and Spanish wines, silks, oil, lemons, marmalades and other Spanish produce, Portuguese spices, zinc and English broadcloth. Coming to the fair are also circus artists, acrobats and theatrical troupes, and various wonders have been shown, including mermaids..."
This year's edition has brought together near on 700 exhibitors from Poland and Europe, with 705 stalls presenting wares that - according to Gdańsk International Fairs Company which organizes the event - have been specially selected to be "unique, local and regional, and not ordinarily available". As they say, the fair comprises 65 thousand square metres "and does not grow, for consideration of quality".
The fair's fringe programme includes concerts, theatricals and workshops for children.
This year's 762nd edition of St.Dominic's Fair in Gdańsk continues through to August 14.
Source: PAP/IAR