Ursula Heinzelmann’s Viennese market

Trustee Ursula Heinzelmann works up an appetite for Vienna’s Naschmark. Vienna’s largest open-air market is situated in the 6th district of Mariahilf, between Secession and Kettenbrückengasse. While the market itself dates back to the 1780s, early activities were confined to the sale of milk and butter.

Naschen actually means nibbling and snacking on delicious tidbits – is’nt that a great name for a market? – although it didn’t actually acquire this name till 1905. By then the market had long been used for the sale of fruit and vegetables. Today it has developed into an appetising mix of shops and street stalls offering all kinds of delicacies, with most of the stalls housed in permanent wooden structures.

One of the most attractive elements of the market today is the wide variety of goods on sale: you can buy fresh sauerkraut directly from the barrel, then move along to the stall selling Indian spices who’s next door to the seller of mountain cheeses whose neighbour is selling fresh fish or game. After the new millenium, many of the stalls began to offer food and drink for consumption on the spot, a very popular option amongst locals at weekends, when the flea market at the far end of the Naschmarkt provides an additional draw.