The ceremony at Lokvina marked the official end of this year’s Bela Nedja, the three-day Kastavian Fair, which is the most significant cultural and economic event in the region. The event, which has been gathering people for 626 years, or six centuries, on the first Sunday in October, attracted thousands of people this year.
The fair celebrations began on Saturday afternoon, continued with the main programme on Sunday, and concluded with the Bel Pundjak, locally known as the post-fair. Over the three days, thousands of visitors passed through Kastav.
The Bel Nedja is historically linked to the autumn harvest, grapes, and new wine – the Kastavian belica, after which the fair is named. According to popular tradition, the Bel Nedja fair marked the end of one year and the beginning of a new one. It was a time for settling debts and negotiating new contracts.
Residents of Kastva, and indeed those from further afield in the Kvarner and Istria regions, joined in. Local craftsmen, particularly coopers, kettle makers, cobblers, and carpenters, were particularly prominent.
The Bel Pundjak in Kastva continues to uphold the tradition of gathering business leaders and political representatives. The host of the meeting, Matej Mostar, the mayor of Kast, welcomed all the guests. A short toast was made by the county prefect of Primorsko-Goranska County and former mayor of Kast, Ivica Lukanović.
