Messen, Städte und Kaufleute (1350-1600)

1.9. - 15.10.2023
Exhibition in the Old Town Hall, 1st floor, Markt 1, 04109 Leipzig

Fairs played a decisive role in determining trade in pre-modern Europe. They were of considerable economic importance for the cities that hosted them and were also a major attraction that brought traders and many other visitors to the cities.

The exhibition traces the history of European fairs from the mid-14th to the beginning of the 17th century. On display are documents and objects that were created or used in the context of fairs and fair trade. They were selected by the members of the German-French research project "Configurations of European Fairs. Merchants, Objects, Routes (ca. 1350-1600)". In line with this research focus, the cities and fairs referred to are therefore mainly located in the French, German, Swiss and Italian regions. The time frame of the project was occasionally interpreted generously, especially when certain objects or documents were only available in museums or archives from the period after 1600.

With this exhibition, which was first on display at the Archives départementales et métropolitaines in Lyon from 30 March to 30 June 2023, archival records, objects and research data are made available for teaching, research and an interested public.

The presentation is part of the project "Configurations of European Fairs. Merchants, Objects, Routes (ca. 1350-1600)" and developed by the University of Erfurt. It is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as well as the Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR) and is hosted at the Old Town Hall Leipzig with the support of the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig.

The exhibition is also available online as a free bilingual German-French service: Fairs in History.

Free admission to this exhibition for participants of the Historikertag upon presentation of the participant ID/accreditation.