Kaupanteon perinteitä Lappeenrannan kauppatorilla

The article is based on ethnographic oral histories of the marketplace in Lappeenranta. The main research materials are interviews with the former and present market vendors, ethnographic fieldwork at the marketplace, and literary sources. The study was conducted in 2014. The article focusses on the market trade traditions at the Lappeenranta marketplace and descriptions of this trade. The methodological background is an ethnographic approach to oral history. The marketplace is approached in terms of ethnographic closeness, as lived and experienced, produced by narrating and remembering. The marketplace is a site of memory (lieu de memoire), which has many reminiscers and narrators as well as rich oral tradition and oral culture maintained by vendors and customers. Market trade in Lappeenranta has a long history, going back to the Middle Ages. The remembered and reminisced marketplace was established after the World War II when trade to Vyborg ended and the nearby producers transferred their trade to Lappeenranta. Several local specialities can be found at the marketplace in Lappeenranta, the most famous being the stuffed meat pies, vety and atomi, as well the products from nearby farmers. The marketplace has retained the traditional producers’ and farmers’ market traditions. The marketplace is created through its vendors, and the vendors are part of the market’s essence and identity. They offer local food and quality, familiarity and local specialties. The market trade is characterised by its lively oral traditions, as well as its atmosphere and value added by experience. Vending at this marketplace is based on long-term customer relationships and personalised shopping.