The Chaindon Fair, more commonly called ‘the Chaindon‘, is an agricultural fair with a livestock market that is held in Reconvilier, in the Bernese Jura, every first Monday in September. The fair takes its name from the former hamlet of Chaindon, which was once separate from the village of Reconvilier. Records indicate that the fair was being held back in the first half of the 17th century, but it is certainly of older origin. It owes its reputation to its horse market, which grew to such a size that it became one of the most important in Europe.
Despite the mechanisation of agriculture in the second half of the 20th century and the disappearance of cavalry from the Swiss army, the Chaindon Fair remains an important event that attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year, not only from the region, but also from the rest of Switzerland and abroad. The livestock market always starts at dawn on the first Monday in September, at 5.30 exactly. The animals put on view outside the college, while the rest of the fair begins in all the other streets of the village. The day, long devoted to farming matters, is still an important event for farmers, who look forward to meeting each other there.
