The Once Forgotten Centuries Old Viennese Market Is Trendy Again
by Heather Cassell
The Karmelitermarkt, Carmelite Market, is one of four of Vienna’s most notable markets for its picturesque location and its diversity.
Located in the Leopoldstadt, Vienna’s second district, it is a few minutes from the Old Town, sandwiched between the canal and the Augarten near Schwedenplatz, which is just over the Danube Canal in the Karmeliterviertel, Carmelite Quarter, named for a Baroque Carmelite church on what Lonely Planet has called an architecturally picturesque square.
At one time the neighborhood was the city’s Jewish quarter, but the market has existed since 1671.
“Historically, the first and second districts in Vienna were always opposed,” architect Gregor Eichinger told the New York Times. “The first district was opera, the second was the waltz. The first was high culture, the second low. Vienna looks so much to the past; but now we’re at the beginning of a new curve.”
The market, which is smaller than the Naschmarkt, Vienna’s oldest and largest market in the heart of the city on the other side of the Danube River, has survived through the centuries with each new wave of residents and trends. For more than a decade, creative Viennese have rediscovered the neighborhood and market in a quest for inexpensive and comfortable living. In the midst of the quest, the neighborhood and market have undergone its modern reinvention.
It has become a melting pot with Orthodox Jews, immigrants, artists, activists, feminist, queers, and young families and professionals seeking a bohemian lifestyle. New bars, studios, and galleries have sprung up.
The market has embraced the neighborhood’s revival and rediscovery and is ever evolving with new restaurants offer a variety of cuisines from traditional Viennese to dishes from distant lands are constantly finding a home in the eclectic neighborhood.
Fridays and Saturdays bring a farmers’ market featuring a slow food corner. Here locals fill their bags with fresh produce and herbs, cured and fresh meats, warm baked breads, wines and more. These are the best days to capture and participate in quotidien Viennese life as they shop and brunch at the restaurants on the square.
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