ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a series of historical landmarks related to the economic, social, legislative, and urban specificity of markets and fairs in the cities of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. It shows the legal frame of setting up, organising, and operating markets and fairs, the number, type, timing, and their topographic distribution both at the level of the principalities and inside towns. Based on case studies of the largest markets and fairs from Iaşi, Bucharest, Câmpulung, Târgovişte, Buzău, and Fălticeni, it shows how these places of exchange were built and equipped and the impact they had on urban development. It also demonstrates the economic and social importance of markets and fairs, referring in particular to the types of commercial activities carried out in these places, the geographical zones of origin of goods, the areas served by markets and fairs, the social profile of the participants and, last but not least, the cultural influences and the forms of sociability that these places of exchange promoted or generated.
