Good practice:

Fair of Saint Ursula’s Day for traditional cultural handcraft in Kőszeg

The Írottkő Nature Park with its seat in Kőszeg was established as the first cross-border nature park with Austria in 1997. Its main activities involve sustainable tourism and recreation, environmental education, protection of natural and cultural heritage and regional development incl. promotion of local products. The local fair with the aim to the extend the tourism season and to create new market for the local producers was first organised in October 2002 in the inner courtyard of the Jurisics castle with about 10 stalls selling wine, honey, ginger-bread, jam, pottery, wood-carvings, etc. Local associations (brass band, sport clubs, dance groups, the Croatian and German minority groups, parent-teacher associations) of the 16 municipalities of the Nature Park are invited to take part in a cooking and baking competition, providing them a fundraising opportunity by selling their homemade food and drinks. The number of the stalls increased to appr. 150 throughout the years, with a fair covering the whole inner town and producers of good quality craft products arriving from all parts of Hungary. Cultural program is provided during the 2-days festival by local folk-dance groups and choirs. Restaurants and confectioneries also have a special regional offer at this time of the year, which include delicacies made of sweet chestnut, pumpkin, honey, etc. Main beneficiaries are the local people and tourists, associations, school groups, local producers and tourism service providers.

The organisers regularly apply for national cultural funds to finance the event (1500-4000 Euro/year), while the main source of income is the reservation fee from the stall holders (15-20 Euro/m2). The number of staff involved in the organisation is 10-12 employees and 10-15 volunteers.

The main evidence of success is the increasing number of visitors, which was around 10,000 in the years before Covid-19. The programme is a great meeting place for locals, the pleasant autumn atmosphere with the smell of mulled wine and sweet chestnut attracts tourists from all over the country and people who used to live in Kőszeg. The key success factor is the cooperation between the main stakeholders: cultural and tourism organisations, local producers and civil associations.

The practice can be potentially interesting for small towns and remote regions with the aim to organize new programs in order to extend the tourism season, to enhance local cooperation and promote local products. Traditionally Saint Ursula’s Day represents the end of the year thus it has an important memorial background for the modern society. From local economic development point of view the fair represents the integrity of local producers, local consumers matching point and provides opportunity for the establishment of local supply chains in the territory.