The idea of organising a modern fair by Polish manufacturers and merchants had its origins during the congress of the Union of Merchant Associations held in Poznań in 1917. The Union was an organisation of Polish merchants from Greater Poland and Eastern Pomerania. The fair was required to be of an international character and organised like the Leipzig Trade Fair. The first Poznań Trade Fair ("I Targ Poznański"), as it was called, took place in 1921 (from 28 May till 5 June), and the first chairman was Mieczysław Krzyżankiewicz.