St. Dominic's Fair (or Jarmark Dominika or simply Jarmark as it’s referred to in Polish), is on par with Weihnachtsmarkt and Oktoberfest when it comes to both size and visibility. The festival dates all the way back to 1260, when it was established by Pope Alexander IVth, the good old days when a fair could persuade you to attend a pardon mass and cut your stay in purgatory by a whopping 100 days.<br /> <br /> Originally the fair kicked off with bell ringing and the call for around 400 ships to come to Gdańsk to ply their wares. It was always an important event for the town in which the king and nobility took part; the most memorable being in 1310 where Teutonic knights used the absence of the king and invaded. It ran up to World War II when the fair was stopped for 33 years.<br /> <br /> The modern version pays a lot of mind to Medieval traditions with salesmen from the whole Pomerania area coming to sell their produce mainly along ul. Szeroka and ul. Mariacka, C-3 with the streets around Targ Rybny, D-3 full of antiques and collectors’ items. It's a colourful affair and well worth checking out. Though nowadays you can't count on Teutonic Knights to crash the party, you can still buy obscene amounts of amber jewellery, regional arts, sausage, and lard as well as the odd bit of Nazi memorabilia discovered by bounty hunters who are still digging up badges and the like to this day.<br /> <br /> Lasting for three weeks this is the biggest event in the Gdansk cultural calendar and attracts over 6 million visitors annually. You'll find a detailed programme of events at the stands of the event organisers (you’ll find one next to Neptun’s statue) or you can download a map from the organisers’ website.