The Brunnenmarkt - an oriental street market in Ottakring

Monday, 02 July 2018 06:12
Written by Portal Editor

If you want to enjoy the ultimate, almost oriental market experience in Vienna, you should visit the Brunnenmarkt in Ottakring, which we were able to do thanks to our city guide Gernot.

Different ethnic groups stroll through this market, which gives it a certain holiday feeling. In the northern part of the Brunnenmarkt, Yppenplatz is a square comparable to a piazza, a place for cultural encounter.

The multicultural audience also reflects in the products offered on the market: everything from Turkish bakery to local farmer products. Especially in the evening, you can shop at very low price on the market, but at noon, prices are cheaper on the farm market on Yppenplatz, which mostly adjoins on Saturdays.

The Brunnenmarkt in Vienna-Ottakring, a market form that has almost disappeared, is the largest, permanent street market in Europe with around 160 market stalls. It is also called the "Orient around the Corner" due to its colorful and multicultural ambience. This means that the stalls stay overnight and the Brunnengasse in the 16th district is completely closed to traffic. Anyone who feels really comfortable on a southern-oriental street market or souk is just right on the Brunnenmarkt, because the longest street market in Vienna surprises with further advantages. Located in a Turkish-dominated district between Thaliastraße and Ottakringer Straße, its clientele consists to an estimated 70% of people of Turkish or Greek descent. This strong international touch ensures an incomparable revival of the fountain market.

The food at the Brunnenmarkt

The Brunnenmarkt offers mostly food for the daily shopping of the residents, like freshest fruits and vegetables, meat, bakery, cheese, fresh fish, Turkish and Greek specialties, specialties of Austrian farmers and a few stalls with utensils (especially strange: a stall , which only sells sports socks, and a vocal but rhetorically questionable representative of a carpet cleaning company who is not afraid to demonstrate his product to interested housewives on the spot). One "show" that day after day is to be seen again, causes the dealers want to get rid of leftovers in the evening, shortly before closing time, goods are presented loudly and at ridiculous prices.

Food against the sudden and uncontrolled hunger can be found in numerous food stalls, either kebabs or sausages, which also provide opportunities for cultural exchange with the people in the area ("Heast deppada raam dei hundsviech vo da strossn weg sunst wiri nu schiach mid eam, so a saubastartl ! "), Or in one of the Turkish restaurants behind the stalls.
Drinking water hydrants, which provides water to the thirsty or overheated. Also on the market are the numerous shops and restaurants of Brunnengasse, which houses (mostly Turkish) cafes or restaurants, Beisln and junk shops, betting shops, jewellery and ceramic traders.

Availability and opening hours of the market

Opening hours: The Brunnenmarkt is open Mon-Fri 6:00 am - 6:30 pm, Sat 6:00 am - 2:00 pm and on the first Saturday of the month until 6:00 pm. Since the Market is not yet one of the tourist areas of Vienna, to go for a pleasant shopping any time during the opening hours of Brunnenmarkt is recommended, only at lunchtime it is really crowded.
Accessibility: U6 Thalistraße, then line 46 to Brunnengasse (or 200 meters on foot up the Thaliastraße). Also line J stopps at Brunnengasse or line 44 stopps at Yppengasse.

Coordinates of the fountain market: 48 ° 12'41.6 "N 16 ° 20'09.9" E 48.211553, 16.336093

Street Art Festival

Since 2013, the street art fair takes place at Brunnenmarkt. There is an extraordinary artistic program on one day a year, created by artists from all over the world: