Kaziukas Fair 2023

In 2023, Vilnius celebrated the 700th anniversary of the city. This anniversary is associated with the year 1323, when Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania first mentioned Vilnius in his letters and invited “all Christians, men and women throughout the wide world” to come to the growing city. Gediminas encouraged traders, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, cobblers, furriers, millers, and other craftsmen to settle in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and engage in trade “freely, without any toll or duty, and without hindrance.” These letters testify that from its very beginnings Vilnius developed as a city open to trade and craftsmanship.

It is therefore only natural that the Kaziukas Fair held that year reflected the spirit of these legendary letters and once again demonstrated the important role that craftsmen and their work play in the growth and prosperity of Vilnius.