Torzhishcha

Kobrin → Outstanding persons → Alexey Mikhaylovich Martynov

Causes amazement with what delightful ease the initial essence of once very respectable concepts is perverted and profaned at us. For example, now pretty often the huge circle of adherents on interests is called as the prestigious word "club" while the poor bazarchik proclaims itself "fair".

That which - to whom to understand how it is improperly thoughtless to usurp the word "fair", I will try to acquaint the reader with what once full-fledged Kobrin fairs were in brief.

To begin with the fact that the word "fair" is borrowed from German and literally means "the annual market". One of the earliest and primitive forms of commercial activity which is regularly collecting in certain time and the place of producers of goods and sellers for the purpose of wholesale and retail sale and purchase of goods is so called. One of the oldest international fairs – Leipzig – still remains to the most prestigious. At us the All-Russian Nizhny Novgorod fair once widely was famous. For the first time Kobrin fairs it is remembered in a written source of quatercentenary prescription. This event is directly connected with receiving city self-government by Kobrin in 1589 Were two annual fairs on orthodox holidays of the Epiphany (on January 6) and the Virgin's Christmas are established (on September 8). At the same time weekly trading afternoon Monday was defined. Then in 1679. two additional annual torzhishch – on the St. George's day (on April 26) and for the Trinity which lasted the whole week were added to two initial fairs.

These four fairs endured all historical shocks which fell to lot of our city, having existed till August, 1915 which abruptly broke eternal way of national life. The vast majority of the population was broken by the approaching front from familiar spots and disseminated through immense open spaces of Russia.

From time immemorial as shopping center of Kobrin served the city posad with the market square in the middle sheltered at the southern wall of the ancient castle. Exactly here and on adjacent narrow small streets trade action was played. Exhibition day was only some kind of culmination of long preparation for this event of the parties participating in it. For months various products of national crafts collected, the cattle intended for sale was led up to appropriate fatness. City shopkeepers in return reserved more quick-selling goods in plenty to satisfy demand of buyers.

In the remote past the navedyvaniye of "kirmash" for many inhabitants of backwoods was originally epoch-making event about which subsequently memoirs were kept for years. And as it was hard to reach Kobrynya on terrible off road terrain for many tens of versts moreover with voluminous luggage, it is easy to imagine if hundred years ago as the main draft force served oxen. Even it was in the twenties possible to see sluggish couples of oxen harnessed in the cart on city streets. At all not a joke when in the second half of the past century the advanced peasant got the first horse in the village, neighbors were going to observe a crowd what the new thing will be on lust …

However, very many went to a fair on foot, barefoot with boots behind shoulders which put shoes on on the way to the city. And completely to use exhibition time, to popritsenivatsya much to tempting "kramny goods", very considerable part of peasants arrived the day before, settling down "on nochl" at city znakomets.

Kobrin fairs enjoyed enviable popularity and attracted inhabitants not only the county. So Pruzhanshchina traditionally delivered sound potter's goods whereas other districts specialized in other types of production: cooper's products, polukushka, spinning wheels, bast shoes, baskets, straw capacities of different function and so forth.

In the middle of the nineteenth century in Kobrin, along with many district cities in the west of the country, the extensive malls which burned down in 1915 were built. On their base in the twenties the shopping center was restored by merchants on the share beginnings. To one hundred small little shops of different function the external and internal parties of a spacious rectangle contained. "The hall to a torgova", on official Polish terminology, were an original citadel of shopkeeper's activity. Besides, shops and handicraft workshops occupied entirely all first floors of houses on perimeter of the Market square, and also houses on the Brest, Pinsky and Ratnensky streets.

If traditional four fairs were bright, remarkable events against rather dim district daily occurrence, then from twentieth years of a fair became more everyday phenomenon. The Polish administration established monthly holding two regular fairs for which were allocated 15 – the 30th from intermediate trading day to Thursdays. Range of annual fairs was rather modest and was mainly limited to limits of the and adjacent counties. Updated torzhishche gained incomparably wider popularity. The numerous money-bags-skototorgovtsy from Warsaw, Lodz and other industrial centers who became Kobrin frequenters soon began to play the dominating role. On their service owners of ten city mini-hotels, "gotel" who seldom were empty did favorable "deal".

Pigs, cattle and horses became the profiling goods of our fairs soon. It is in passing pertinent to notice that peasants with a business grasp successfully were engaged in cultivation of thoroughbred horses, for encouragement annual exhibitions were organized. Business was very perspective as on good horses demand was steady and profitable. They were bought at high prices for the Polish cavalry and for foreign, especially Balkan armies which representatives even more often visited Kobrin.

If within centuries as shopping center undividedly served the Market square, then subsequently for sale of certain types of agricultural products the small area near a church on Pinskaya Street (the square of Puganov) on which in market and furthermore in exhibition days brisk business in pigs, calfs, a bird, straw, hay, firewood and various building material was done was chosen.

By thirtieth years specially under a bestial fair at the very end of Pinskaya (May Day) of the street, on the place of present garages, during that time out of urban development, the extensive site of the thrown earth was fenced. Supplies with the fattened pigs weighing 12-15 poods were passed in a zagorodnik after payment "trade" and a vetosmotra. Naturally, these procedures demanded time therefore at simultaneous extraordinary flow a supply the wagon train quite often slowed down traffic, dragging on a continuous chain through all city up to a railway crossing down the street of Lenin.

The dozens of special cars loaded by a mnogotonye of the squealing living creatures which without delays were sent to the West were a usual result of an exhibition harvest season.

On same "torgovitsa" a certain site was allocated for a cattle which went generally for a song. The krupnoporodny divinsky and lelikovsky oxen who are grown up for many years had special success in wholesalers buyers. They went for sale after use at agricultural works, bringing in to owners the solid income: they were especially appreciated high-quality strong leather.

However the most hazardous transactions were made on the horse platform. Here the tone was undividedly set by numerous Gipsy brotherhood which separate families long since got accustomed in many villages of the county. The result of the concluded bargain was summed up by a traditional "beating on hands" then the agreement got force of the indestructible law.

If to consider that in prewar time most of the population of the city consisted of impulsive Jews whose most was in a varying degree involved in commercial activity (they annually redeemed about five hundred patents for the right of occupation by trade), from petty to wholesale) that can be imagined, on how many degrees temperature of business activity when the exhibition roundabout about which the vast majority of our contemporaries know only by hearsay was started up on whole revolutions jumped up in the city.

11.03.1990.

 



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