Division 5.3 Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI)

The history, baking tradition and reputation of the ‘rogal świętomarciński’

The ‘rogal świętomarciński’ has enjoyed unwaning popularity and success in Poznań for at least 150 years. In the minds of the citizens of Poznań and visitors to this city on the river Warta, the product is associated with Saint Martin’s Day celebrations on 11 November. The many legends and traditions relating to when the baking of this pastry began testify to the product’s reputation.

According to one of these legends, the first person to bake the ‘rogal świętomarciński’ in Poznań was the confectioner Józef Melzer, who encouraged his employer to bake croissants which were then distributed to the city’s poor. He is said to have come up with the idea in November 1891 after having listened to the preachings of Fr Jan Lewicky, the priest of the parish of Saint Martin, who urged that the patron saint of the parish, who personifies love for one’s neighbour, and is also the patron saint of bakers, be honoured by means of some act of compassion towards Poznań’s poor.

The croissant shape also has traditional roots; its origin is attributed to the time of King Jan III Sobieski’s victory over the Turks at the gates of Vienna. In 1683, King Jan III Sobieski of Poland seized many Turkish flags, on which a crescent moon was depicted; this shape has served as a model for baking the ‘rogal świętomarciński’, in commemoration of this victory. According to another Poznań legend, the shape alludes to the horseshoe lost by Saint Martin’s horse.

The oldest known reference to croissants being baked on Saint Martin’s Day was placed in the Gazeta Wielkiego Księstwa Poznańskiego [Gazette of the Grand Duchy of Poznan] of 10 November 1852 by the confectioner Antoni Pfitzner, who had opened his shop three years earlier on ul. Wrocławska in Poznań.

‘Tomorrow, Thursday, filled croissants available at various prices at A. Pfitzner’s confectioner’s shop on ul. Wrocławska’.

The first recorded use of the name ‘rogal świętomarciński’ can be found in a press announcement from 11 November 1860.

After the Second World War, the tradition of baking the ‘rogal świętomarciński’ was continued by private confectioners and bakers in Poznań. The Nationalisation Act of 3 January 1946 did not cover small craft firms. The type of filling used in the pastry changed at that time. Given the difficulties affecting supplies, the ingredients to make an almond filling became virtually unavailable, and confectioners and bakers began to replace the almond filling with a white-poppy-seed filling.

Since the 1960s newspapers have regularly reported the quantity of croissants eaten by the citizens of Poznań on 11 November. Thanks to this source of information, it is known today that consumption grew from just over 10 tonnes in the early 1960s to some 42,5 tonnes in 1969. Nowadays, 250 tonnes of the product are sold on average on Saint Martin’s Day by producers in Poznań, while annual sales are in the region of 500 tonnes.

The ‘rogal świętomarciński’ has become a symbol of Poznań with which official guests are served. It was awarded a prize by the Polish Tourism Organisation in 2004, being described as follows:

‘… a traditional pastry made using a unique recipe and baked only in Poznań for Saint Martin’s Day …’.This information demonstrates the reputation of this specific product and its association with Poznań and the entire region.