It was the Røros copper works that turned this little mountain town into a bustling trading post a few centuries before the town’s annual fair first came to light. The copper works operated for 333 years, from 1644 to 1977. The mining community was dependent on the supply of food and other supplies, and people came from all areas to sell commodities such as grain, peas, dried cod, pollock, salted and smoked meat, herring, butter, cheese, tobacco, hops, flax, canvas, linen, spirits and horses. The copper works needed tools, gunpowder, iron, clay and ropes. Only coal, firewood and timber were obtained locally. All goods had to be transported by horse and sleigh in winter into Røros.
On 18 February 2020, the streets once again filled with people in true Rorøs Fair style. Around 250 exhibitors descended on the town to sell their wares alongside the local business community. There was limited space between the stalls and accommodation was full to bursting. Although additions such as funfairs and concerts are fairly recent, the Rorøs Fair is still an event where traditions live on and where history and culture are kept alive through the traditional local food, the local backyard atmosphere, horse-drawn sleigh rides, demonstrations of old crafts, auctions and much, much more…