The 'kermis' fair is an international phenomenon with a long history. As long ago as the Middle Ages, church festivals drew people from far and wide. And where there are people, there is trade. The trade brought with it acrobats, animal-tamers, jugglers, quacks and minstrels. They all got a piece of the action: and so the kermis, at the time still a mixture of business and pleasure, was born.
The kermis is the home of a string of attractions which were to take on a life of their own: the cinema, the circus, the zoo, the amusement and theme park, the waxworks and so on.
There are a number of institutes in Europe which seek to bring the importance of the kermis to the attention of a broad public: the Markt- und Schaustellermuseum in Essen (Germany), the Museo della Giostra e dello Spettacolo Populare in Bergantino (Italy), the municipal museum Het Markiezenhof in Bergen op Zoom (Netherlands) and the National Fairground Archive in Sheffield (England).
These four establishments have worked successfully with the European Federation for the Education of Children of Occupational Travellers (EFECOT) to submit a project in the European Commission's Culture 2000 programme.
The result of the financial support of the European Commission and the co-operation of the five establishments is a five-language website for adults and children on the roots and history of the kermis. This is an accessible and interesting way for people to find out about a phenomenon that is still very much alive and well: the KERMIS.
United Kingdom
People credits
- Tim Neal (in particular for image selection and editing of text)
- Carolyn Waudby for the children's text
- Ian Trowell for digitisation of materials
- the Noel Drewe Collection for film material
- Finally the staff of the University of Sheffield Library and the
National Fairground Archive as a thank you