An issue of the periodical 'Polska' devoted entirely to the Vilnius St Casimir's Fair. The text mentions the history of Vilnius itself and the fair's issues, richly illustrated mainly with examples of Vilnius craftsmanship, including bales, sieves, baskets or textiles (Source: "Polska", Warsaw 1936, R: 2, no. 10, after: Jagiellonian Digital Library).

A modernised reading of the text

St Casimir's Fair in Vilnius.

Framed by a garland of green forests on the Ponary hills, seated docilely on the banks of the blue-painted Neris river, our beloved Vilnius, picturesque yet charmingly melancholic, combines the glories of past glories with the martyr's halo of later years, evoking strangely tender feelings in our hearts. The very sound of the name of the northern borderland capital transports our imagination to the eternal, virgin forests of the "Lithuanian wilderness, where all sorts of wild beasts lurked and lurked among the forest giants in inaccessible wildernesses, Where in underground temples on stone altars the great priest Kriwe-Kriwejte stoked the sacred flame of the eternal Torch, and wandelion singers wearing garlands of sacred tree leaves on their heads sang hymns in honour of the ruler of lightning - the god Perkun.

Here, on a mountain called Turza, Lithuanian Duke Gediminas, following the instructions of a prophetic dream, builds the first wooden castellum. In turn, we can think back to the sublime moment of the Baptism of Lithuania and the great sacrificer, Queen Jadwiga, who, for the glory of God and the good of her homeland, having renounced her own happiness in marriage for love, together with her husband Ladislaus Jagiełło, converted thousands of pagan Lithuanian souls to the Christian faith and, to commemorate the ceremony and the pivotal moment in the life of both countries, clothed them in white robes. Memories of the golden period of the reign of the wise Jagiellons are stirring.

On the slopes of Castle Hill, on the site of the old castle, a magnificent new brick castle is being built. The saintly young Prince Casimir lives there. Sigismund Augustus often stays in his favourite city, and eventually bids farewell to his dearest wife, Barbara Radziwiłłówna. However, critical times are coming. It seems we can hear them being foretold in an inspired voice by the golden-mouthed Piotr Skarga Pawęski.

We see the Jasna of the Gate of Dawn, surrounded by the great love of the people, bowing her head crowned with a radiant nimbus and folding her hands prayerfully on her breasts, imploring God to have mercy on the faithful nation against which hostile forces were uniting. Further images of the historical film appear in our imagination: the partitions of Poland, the enslavement, and at the same time the incredible development of Vilnius University.

"Youth, fly above the horizon - and with the eye of the sun penetrate the vastness of humanity - from end to end", repeats his favourite leader, Vilnius.

- repeated after their favourite leader Adam Mickiewicz by the student fraternity, gathered in the secret societies of the Philomaths, the Radiant and the Filarets. Like a bolt of lightning that sweeps across the sky, only to go out in a moment, the "god of war" Napoleon appears in the city in 1812, passing through, and suddenly the decorations change from light to dark. As if creatures from hell, two macabre Moscow figures appear on the horizon of Gediminas Town: the Novosiltssov and Muravev-Veshatel servants.

There are searches, arrests, imprisonments, executions, "vospreszczajetsia gavorit po polski" - sound the inscriptions on the walls of the outer streets and on the inner walls of the institutions. The mournful kir shrouds the whole city with a thick veil. The districts of Lukiszki and Pohulanka, so cheerful today, are drenched with the blood of convicted martyrs. The Great War is also reflected in the fate of Vilnius. The German occupation, like a vampire sucking out vital juices, ruins the city economically, but the Bolshevik invasion that follows ignites a wonderful spark of patriotic ecstasy. On the screen, we see schoolchildren and working-class youths as they stand up to defend their Polish hometown with rifles abandoned by the Germans in their frozen hands.

Passed from mouth to mouth, as on the airwaves, the encouraging news spreads quietly: "The Polish army is coming to the rescue." And behold, on the memorable Holy Saturday of 1919, the horseshoes of Belina's lancers rang - with the most wonderful music under the ancient vault of the Gate of Dawn. On the strength of an order from J. Piłsudski, the 1st Legions Division under General Rydz-Śmigły entered the area and, "measuring strength by measure", with a bold attack drove out the Red Army, which was much stronger in numbers. Unfortunately, the joy is short-lived.

The following year brings a second invasion by Bolshevik hordes and new Dantean scenes of terror. The heroic redoubt of Polishness survives these torments as well. Like hot, white-foamed geysers, the pleading prayers of thousands of Vilnius people gush upwards towards their Protectress of the Dawn Gate. Unbroken faith pierces the heavens. The "Miracle on the Vistula" appears in the glory of victory, and with it, the defeated invader retreats towards the Dvina River, which, however, maliciously gives Vilnius and its environs back to Kaunas-Lithuania.

A new yoke must be endured. But salvation is fast approaching. The sounds of triumphant fanfares can be heard from afar. It is the armed protest of Poland - the Lithuanian-Byelorussian Division and volunteer formations headed by General Żeligowski - that makes the Entente government decide to call a plebiscite. Its results are impressive, memorable! Let us look and listen! After all, it was almost the entire local population that, by a unanimous vote, incorporated Vilnius - 'the nicest city in the world', as J. Pilsudski called it - together with the surrounding lands, into the Blessed Republic forever!
The patron saint of Vilnius and Lithuania is St Casimir, King of Poland.

A descendant of the brave and wise Jagiellonian dynasty, and son of King Casimir the Jagiellonian, although born on the royal throne and raised to rule the people and the land, he nevertheless resisted the charm of royal crowns - taking the eternal crown above all others. He was the second in a row son of a wise but strict father, who, endowed with as many as eleven children, chose as their tutors the most enlightened people of his time, such as the historian Jan Długosz of great virtue and learning, the famous humanist Callimachus, and the pride of the University of Cracow, Jan Kanty.

Among the young and cheerful bunch, little Kazimierz stood out for his beauty and qualities of soul and mind, thus becoming the most beloved of his father and teachers. The boy's focused, ardent and attentive soul, sensitive to all that is beautiful, noble and sublime, absorbs the words of the masters, outstripping his siblings far ahead in inner development and filling his parents' hearts with pride and joy. In summer, clad in linen cloths, in winter in simple sheepskins, the royals trained themselves from childhood to manly fortitude, educating themselves at the same time in refinement of spirit and outward forms, and inspiring admiration in foreign visitors when they greeted them in crimson and gold with Latin speeches.

Thus the fame of the brave royals spread widely beyond the borders of Poland, and foreign nations wished to see them as their rulers. Soon the eldest of the brothers, Ladislaus, was elected King of Bohemia, and a crown was being prepared for the younger Casimir. However, these are not the prospects that entice the spirited boy. "He is such a noble young man, of rare ability and uncommon learning, that he should rather be preserved for his native land," one of the royal advisors, Jan Długosz, admonished him, referring to him as a "holy young man" elsewhere.

Obedient to his parents' wishes, together with his younger brother Jan Olbracht, Kazimierz trained in advance for domestic matters. He always accompanied his father on foreign missions, at the congress with the Teutonic Grand Master in Malbork, and at the Sejm in Piotrków, and his every independent action showed the noblest rectitude of character and an impeccable sense of justice, as well as a great love for everything that was righteous, noble, pure and lofty.

The whole nation sees him as the beloved heir to the throne - he alone is far from this thought. He also resolutely refuses to marry the princess of Brandenburg. "I feel that my sojourn on this earth is not long now, and that no kingdom of this world is destined for me any more", are the words of his reply, quoted by the Rev. Piotr Skarga. The day of his death, predicted for himself, was fast approaching. On 4 March 1484, at dawn, the Prince ends his earthly journey. His body was buried in Vilnius Cathedral with the greatest reverence and royal splendour, and the numerous miracles occurring at his grave and the adoration of the people surrounded his memory with a halo of holiness and a wreath of legends. It was a wonderful moment when Pope Clement VIII sent a bull counting St Casimir among the saints.

In a city decorated for the ceremony with flowers and greenery, Eastern and Flanders carpets, amid the ringing of bells from all the churches, the sound of music and the booming of cannon shots, the canonisation procession set off through the streets. The procession was attended by knights, religious orders, confraternities, guilds and schools, and countless crowds of commoners, while Duke Lew Sapieha, Voivode of Vilnius, with the help of deacons, carried a magnificent, purple, gold-trimmed flag consecrated by the Pope. A dozen or so years later, when the glory of Lithuania's patron saint was spreading, King Sigismund III built a special chapel of St Casimir at the Cathedral and placed a silver coffin with his relics above the altar, while at the same time the Jesuits built a splendid Baroque church dedicated to the saint. All these festivities and the associated services and indulgences draw crowds of the faithful from the most remote areas.

In order to enrich the time and provide a decent and moralising entertainment, the fathers of the monastery, according to the custom of the time, put on magnificent mystery plays in the church, accompanied by song. An abundant supply of food had to be prepared for these festivities, which lasted several days and attracted thousands of visitors. So the crowds of devout people were followed by numerous merchants, bringing with them foodstuffs, and later other, different, rarer but necessary items, which could find buyers at such a large gathering. This is the origin of the famous annual fair in Vilnius on St Casimir's Day - March 4 - popularly known as "Kaziukas". The origin of this name comes from the fairgoers gathered there, among whom the name of the royal patron is so popular and common that it can be considered a collective name.

Three hundred years have passed since Vilnius first celebrated its fair, which the tradition-loving, conservative people of Vilnius still solemnly celebrate. Early in the morning, on the eve of St. Casimir's Day, a long line of heavy, loaded carts pulls through the roads of Lida, oszmiańsk, raduński, wiłkomierski, niemenczyński and połotski. The horses, tired from their long journey, tread slowly, and the peasants, dressed in grey burnos or sheepskins, head for the Feast of Hearts.

They pray first in the church, entrusting their cares to God reigning on the gilded altar, and when the last tones of the organ are silenced, they go to the market to sell to the lords the oak barrels they have earned over the long winter evenings: oak barrels, delicious bales, smooth, shapely stools, wooden "cakes" for children, patterned, colourful linen and woollen samplings with the age-old composition of the cross, clay pots and dishes, and, above all, heaps of smorgasbord-style bagels - whole mountains and mountain ranges of bagels in many varieties, and next to them piles of colourful, decorative gingerbread, beautifully glazed in white and pink, cut out in the shape of hearts and blazing hearts.

Children, maids, bachelors, relatives and friends - in a word, everyone bestows them on each other. The Kaziuki Fair, which used to be held in Cathedral Square in the heart of old Vilnius, was temporarily moved to Lukiszki Square, which has now happily turned into an area for military and sports parades and various merry-making events. Lukiškės and the neighbouring streets turn into one big bazaar at once. Hundreds of portable stalls cover the square, and stalls, stalls, tables on cross-bars and tents spring up from the ground.

The Kaziuki market has become a favourite destination for spring regional excursions from all over Poland, who wish to visit Vilnius, so beautiful and full of the warmest souvenirs, and to become better acquainted with the folklore of the people who were so beautifully depicted in the words of our beloved bard Mickiewicz, who had a penchant for his native land:

"Willja our parent of streams, has a golden bottom and a blue face. The beautiful Lithuanian woman, who draws her waters, has a purer heart, brighter berries." .

Whoever wants to become acquainted with the beauty of this ancient town should read the extraordinarily rich, illustrated and splendidly published book "Vilnius" by J. Remer in the series "Wonders of Poland", as well as the publications of the old and distinguished bookshop in Vilnius "J. Zawadzki", especially the works of the great researcher of the history of Vilnius, Dr. Wł. Zahorski.