Hakaniemi Market Hall, Helsinki

In the northern part of Hakaniemientori Square, there is a red brick building called Hakaniemen Kauppahalli (Hakaniemi Market Hall), built in 1914. Trading on the square was allowed in 1897 as a Christmas market, but many stalls remained open after the holidays. Over time, the accumulation of mismatched buildings and unsanitary conditions in the sale of food and products made the City Council think about building a covered market, the decision was made on October 20, 1908. Architect Einar Flinckenberg developed two projects: a one-story one for the sale of food only and a two-story one, which was supposed to have retail space for non-food products as well. The Chamber of Commerce studied both options, calculating costs and profitability, and concluded that the two-story option would pay for costs faster, and it was also more interesting from an architectural and aesthetic point of view.

On November 14, 1911, the City Council approved the project, which included 114 retail places for products on the first floor, 103 places on the second floor were intended for the sale of household goods and handicrafts. In addition, there are 11 places for fish trading in the side annex. 32 basement storerooms were provided for storing goods and foodstuffs. In 1912, a pile foundation and walls were built, but work was suspended due to a strike, after which it was already deep autumn and construction resumed only in the spring of the following year. Finishing works were also delayed for almost a year.

The opening ceremony took place on June 1, 1914, at that time it was the largest and most modern market in Europe. On the same day, all "wild" trade in the square was banned, but merchants were in no hurry to occupy comfortable rooms with electric lighting. There was a considerable fee for renting retail spaces, which also had to be paid in advance for a quarter in advance. Later, the rental conditions were relaxed and Torogvyj Hall became a popularshopping destination not only for residents of the area, but also for the whole of Helsinki.

Interestingly, for the 1952 Olympic Games, the city authorities planned to arrange a large and modern public toilet in the Shopping Hall. The project provided for taking up 8 retail sections for it, which caused strong opposition to the market administration, which lost rental income. A compromise decision was made: the city allocated premises in another place for the closed stores and pays for their maintenance, and the rent from the stores continues to flow to the administration of the Trading Floor. Reconstruction of the building was carried out in 1957 and 1971, with escalators installed during the latter. Now the hall is again under repair, as they said before the beginning of 2017, but this deadline was repeatedly postponed, the next opening date is scheduled for the summer of 2022. During the renovation, trade moved to a temporary heated pavilion, which occupies almost half of the Hakaniemi square. The cost of repairs has already exceeded 40 million euros, which is twice the original estimate.