Mrkvancová Fair in Polná: What a Traditional Czech Fair Looks Like

We’d never been to the Mrkvancová Fair in Polná before. But we’d heard about it several times. And since Polná really is just a stone’s throw from Jihlava, we decided this year we’d finally go and see it for ourselves. 🚗

We set off on Saturday just after nine in the morning, and before ten we were already parking at the recommended park-and-ride car park at the Swoboda company premises just outside Polná. The drive took us about twenty minutes. From there, a tourist train with three carriages ran straight to the chateau. And I have to say, interest in it was huge — the train was completely full. One ride cost 30 CZK per person and took about ten minutes. Along the way we passed another car park a bit closer to town, but at that point nobody was parking there yet.

The way to Polná: parking and the tourist train

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When does the Mrkvancová Fair in Polná take place?

It’s maybe worth explaining first where this unusual name actually comes from. In Czech tradition, a pouť (fair) originally had mainly a religious meaning and was held on the feast day of a place’s patron saint. Over time, markets, food, various rides and entertainment were added — essentially the form of the fair as we know it today. The Polná fair is linked to Saint Ligorius, the town’s patron saint, and traditionally falls on the second Sunday in September.

This was also the time when carrots, once grown here in abundance, were harvested around Polná. Exactly when the carrot became a symbol of the fair isn’t documented, but over time mrkvance pastries and bunches of carrots hung above doorways became an inseparable part of it. In 2026, the Mrkvancová Fair took place from 11 to 13 September.

Polná Castle and Chateau: starting the tour

The train dropped us off right at the castle and chateau grounds, and that’s exactly where we started exploring the fair. The castle’s history is much older than I would have guessed from its outward appearance. Its origins probably reach back to the second half of the 12th or the first half of the 13th century, and the first surviving written record of the castle dates from 1356. Today’s grounds blend Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements. 🏰

But first we headed to the information centre and ticket office, where a lady in period costume very kindly explained what was happening where that day. We first chose the exhibition of old crafts and the merchant’s shop. During the fair, this part, together with the historical halls on the first floor, was open for a voluntary admission fee.

Entrance to the chateau and the courtyard

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And I really liked this part. There were items on display connected to various old crafts – from butchers, cobblers and bakers to woodworking and textile work. The exhibition also included an old merchant’s shop. At the blueprint-dyeing (modrotisk) display, a lady in period dress explained very nicely how the fabric used to be made this way. And this topic was actually quite close to my heart. I studied at a textile and fashion secondary school in Strážnice, and we once went there on a school trip to a modrotisk workshop. So after all these years, it all came back to me. 💙

One of the traditional blueprint-dyeing workshops in Strážnice is still running today, and the modrotisk technique itself has been on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2018.

Exhibition of old crafts and the merchant's shop

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What are mrkvance and how do they taste?

Mrkvance are traditional leavened pastries filled with a sweet filling made from grated carrot. Depending on the recipe, sugar and spices are added to the filling, and individual families can of course have their own recipes.

Because of the harsher climate in the Vysočina region, fruit growing never thrived there as much as in warmer parts of the country. Carrots, on the other hand, were grown in abundance around Polná, and the harvest season happened to fall right when the local September fair took place. Another factor may have been that sugar used to be an expensive commodity, far less accessible to ordinary rural households than it is today. So naturally sweet ingredients were also used for sweetening, and carrots were one of them. 🥕

How exactly the first Polná mrkvanec came about is probably something we’ll never find out today. What’s certain, though, is that this leavened pastry filled with seasoned grated carrot gradually became a local speciality, one that’s now almost impossible to imagine the Mrkvancová Fair in Polná without. In other words, local people turned necessity into a unique regional speciality.

When we walked back out onto the courtyard, we obviously couldn’t leave the Mrkvancová Fair without tasting the mrkvance. And a lady was selling them at one of the very first stalls. These particular mrkvance carried the Regional Food of Vysočina Region label, which they were awarded just this year, in 2026. They’re made in Polná by Mrs Jitka Drápelová. I was genuinely curious what something like that would taste like. And to me, the whole thing tasted like apple strudel. So both my husband and I enjoyed the mrkvanec. 🙂

I might not even have recognised the carrot in it. It was sweet, interesting and good. When I asked the lady if I could take a photo of the mrkvance, she wanted to know why. So I told her I write a blog and wanted to write an article about the fair. She immediately asked me for the blog’s address, because she likes travelling too. So maybe she’ll actually end up reading this article after all.

Traditional mrkvance

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Craft market at the castle and wooden toys

There were several craft stalls in the courtyard, seating, coffee, and light refreshments. But the one that caught my attention most was a stall with woodwork. An older gentleman was selling there – back home in Moravia, I’d probably just call him “uncle”. 🙂

He was from Polná itself and made all those wooden toys and little items himself. He said it was his hobby, and that if he priced each toy according to how many hours he’d really spent making it, no customer could afford it. And looking at those toys, I immediately thought of my own childhood, because I used to have various wooden toys too. I was only sorry afterwards that I forgot to ask him his name.

I at least bought a small wooden item from him – a carved tree – to support his work a little. Right next door, another stall also caught my eye, with dolls and figures made from corn husks – šustí. Making figures from it is one of the traditional folk crafts.

Craft market at the castle

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The castle bailey, birds of prey and a view of Peklo Pond

After that we went for a walk behind the castle, where there was a sort of small garden – actually the castle bailey. It’s freely accessible, with aviaries of birds of prey, a viewpoint, and some really lovely carved wooden benches. And right next to the castle is Peklo Pond, so the whole spot by the water feels really nice.

The castle bailey with birds of prey and Peklo Pond

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A tour of Polná Castle and the beautiful Kunštát Hall

At eleven o’clock a castle tour was just about to start, and two ladies in period costumes arrived. So we joined them and went upstairs together. The young woman assisting visitors there was very likeable and knew a great deal about both Polná and the castle itself. She happily answered every question. She was dressed in period costume, playing the role of Kateřina of Valdštejn, heiress to the Polná estate and wife of Zachariáš of Hradec, who acquired Polná through their marriage in 1553.

Interior of the Kunštát Hall and ladies in period costumes

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But the thing that caught my eye most was one gorgeous hall. In my head, I immediately nicknamed it “the green one”. 🙂

In reality, it’s the Kunštát Hall, and the beautiful green ornaments on its walls are Renaissance scrollwork dating from the rebuilding in 1585–1586. Today, wedding ceremonies are also held in this very hall.

Interiors of Polná Chateau

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I also noticed puppets placed around everywhere and at first had no idea why there were so many of them. Only later did I find out that 2026 is a special year for puppeteers in Polná, because the local puppet theatre is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

Overall, the interior spaces of the castle really surprised us. Looking at it from the outside, I would never have expected what was hiding inside.

Historical collections and small treasures

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Stalls at the Mrkvancová Fair: from the chateau to Husovo Square

After the tour, we headed from the chateau towards the centre. And this is where the real fair began. 🙂

The stalls continued from the chateau grounds through the centre all the way to Husovo Square. I honestly hadn’t seen that many stalls in a really long time. There was pretty much everything imaginable, and at times I didn’t even know where to look first. I was really pleased that there were also lots of products from Vysočina and from smaller producers.

Food and snack stalls

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Of course, the classic fair goods you know from almost every market weren’t missing either. I was drawn to things like books, bonsai trees, lilies, ceramics, various bags, and gorgeous wooden items. I saw, for example, small wooden chairs with carved ornaments and pictures, and lots of other things you’ll see in the photos. This time, though, I barely bought anything. I only had a small backpack and didn’t feel like carrying everything around for several hours. So I preferred just to look. 🙂

Stalls with handmade crafts

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How many people were at the Mrkvancová Fair?

When I later put the photos up on the blog, people quite often ask me: “Weren’t there any people there?”

There were. 😀

There were plenty of them at the Mrkvancová Fair. I just try, when I can, to take photos so that not too many people are in the shot. Sometimes I simply wait a moment for a spot to clear for a few seconds, and only then do I take the picture.

So if my photos from the fair look suspiciously empty to you, it’s definitely not because we were there on our own. 🙂

Food, carousels and fairground rides in Polná

Towards the end, the classic fairground part with refreshments and rides began. There were really a lot of sweets, and of course wasps flying around them too. Then there were the classic fair foods – langoš, potato pancakes, sausages, fried noodles with vegetables or meat, and other deep-fried treats. One man was cooking meat right over an open fire, and it smelled absolutely wonderful.

In the end, though, we didn’t have anything. We had drinks in our backpack, and neither of us was particularly hungry at that moment. And since we knew we’d be home in Jihlava again before long, we decided to slowly head back towards the chateau.

Of course we still walked past the carousels. There were really a lot of them, and I even noticed two bumper car tracks – electric car rides. 🎠

Husovo Square, the town hall, and fairground rides

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Is the Mrkvancová Fair in Polná worth visiting?

The tourist train had a midday break from 12 to 1pm, so around quarter past one in the afternoon we rode it back from the chateau to the car park where our car was. And just like in the morning, the train was completely full. Within a few minutes we were back at the car and could set off home.

The Mrkvancová Fair in Polná genuinely pleasantly surprised me. I was expecting a classic fair, but in the end it turned out to be a much more varied trip – a historical castle, old crafts, modrotisk, handmade wooden toys, mrkvance, a huge number of stalls, and classic fairground rides too.

And it was exactly this combination of history, tradition and simple fairground fun that I liked most about it.

If you’ve never been to the Mrkvancová Fair, it can definitely be a nice tip for a September trip in the Vysočina region. We were glad we finally went there this year. 🙂

And maybe we’ll come back here again sometime.

Do you know the Mrkvancová Fair in Polná? And have you ever tasted mrkvance? 🙂