To feed a town —the operation of the Maribor food market, 1910–2020

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Maribor food market which has been operating in the city center since the 13th century, is one of the city’s most important food providers. On market days, local people, farmers, urban and suburban gardeners, as well as food importers bringing in food from far away, have gathered at the market over many centuries. Here, the residents of the city discovered new, previously unknown foods. The paper will deal wtih the operation of the Maribor food market from 1910 to 2020, a period of time during which major changes in the supply of food to the urban Maribor population occurred. This approach enables us to gain a better understanding of the everyday menu of Maribor’s inhabitants at that time, as well as the changes that were occurring in food shopping tendencies and selling practices. The recent failed architectural renovation of the food market in Maribor has not only affected the contemporary vendors, but also the buyers, the visitors to the city, and the local chefs.