The place of the Uzundzhovo fair - Haskovo

Overview

The autumn fair, which took place for almost 3 centuries near the Haskovo village of Uzundzhovo, was one of the biggest local landmarks during the Ottoman era. At the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, more than 50,000 buyers and traders from all over the Ottoman Empire and various parts of Europe, Asia and Africa gathered here every day. According to the German historian Hammer, the fair was established in 1593 by Sinan Pasha - Grand Vizier during the time of Sultans Murad III (1574 - 1593) and Mehmed IV (1593 - 1603). Passing by Uzundzhovo, he liked the place very much, gave 30 thousand groschen from the treasury and ordered the construction of a caravanserai, a mosque, an imaret and a bath, and that an annual fair be convened in the village for 40 days. Our scholars claim that it originally originated as a local gathering - a market for Christians, which with the intervention of the Turkish authorities gradually grew into a large fair. The last time the Uzundzhovo Fair was held was in 1876. His successor is considered to be the Plovdiv Fair, established in 1893 by the Bulgarian government to revive the glory of its famous predecessor. The Uzundzhovo Fair is the largest and most famous fair in the Bulgarian lands until the Liberation (1878). It is held in the present-day village of Uzundzhovo, Haskovo region. The fair is traditionally held annually in September, but its opening and closing dates, as well as the total duration, change. In some periods it is held from September 15 to October 15. At the beginning of the 19th century it became 15 days old and was revealed before the grape harvest. According to data from 1857, its duration is 8 days, starting from September 8. The date of September 8 is also mentioned in sources from 1874. The fair is believed to have originated as a bazaar around a Christian temple. According to the Austrian historian Josef von Hamer, the fair was founded in 1593 by Vizier Sinan Pasha. Since the 16th century it has been traditional and subsidized by the authorities and provides contact of the local population with European merchants. The fair is a center for wholesale of some agricultural products such as rose oil, leather and local handicrafts - leather from Plovdiv, Peshtera, Ohrid, carpets from Sliven and Pirot, metal products from Gabrovo and Samokov, braids and threads from Karlovo, Sopot , Kalofer, Plovdiv. In addition, Uzundzhovo is an important intermediary in the import of European industrial goods into the Ottoman Empire.