To market, to market!

It's a window on the culture of Helsinki

Author: By Patricia Harris, Special to the Globe

Date: SUNDAY, April 19, 1998

Page: M13

Section: Travel

Market Square was one of the inspirations for architect Ben Thompson's remake of Boston's rundown market district into Faneuil Hall Marketplace more than 20 years ago. Frequented as much by locals as tourists and dotted with quirky characters like Riita, it's easy to see why this Helsinki institution captivated Thompson.

The Finns seem to have more than their share of the legendary Scandinavian reserve, but they drop their guard as they greet friends, poke the produce, and settle down for a snack amid the familiar wooden stalls and orange and gold awnings of the Square. The booths open by 7 a.m. so that commuters can get an early start on their coffee consumption. Finns drink more coffee per capita than any other people in the world, often accompanied by fresh doughnuts -- also a Market Square staple.

Located at the edge of Helsinki's South Harbor, Market Square sits at the foot of the Esplanade, a stately avenue divided down the middle by a wide swath of grass and trees and lined on both sides with shops carrying the best in Finnish design (Marimekko, iittala, Arabia, Alvar Aalto's Artek, among others). As the Esplanade gives way to the market, a brass statue of a young woman perched on rocks and surrounded by dolphins sits in the center of a fountain -- a reminder of Helsinki's standing as ``the daughter of the Baltic.''

The city's first public monument, the Czarina's Stone, is the high point in the middle of Market Square -- a symbol not of geography but of history. The obelisk with the double-headed golden eagle of Imperial Russia was erected in 1835 to commemorate a visit by Czar Nicholas I and Czarina Alexandra. Toppled during the Russian Revolution in 1917, it was restored in 1972.

Visiting Russian royalty could gaze at the obelisk from their palace across the way. A private home was transformed into a royal residence after Russia wrested control of Finland from Sweden in 1809 and declared Helsinki the capital of an autonomous grand duchy. One of the best examples of the neoclassical architecture that remade Helsinki into a worthy capital city in the 19th century, the palace became the official residence of the Finnish president after Finland gained independence in 1918. Since 1993, it has been used for government offices and official receptions and provides a serene backdrop to the impromptu street theater of the rough cobblestone Market Square.

Like great markets throughout the world, Market Square is a window on the local culture. Even without the chain stores that have come to dominate American clones, Market Square has plenty to offer souvenir hunters who lack the deep pockets for the pricey goods on the Esplanade. Earnest artisans display colorful ceramics or silver jewelry crafted in simple designs. Older women sit at their booths knitting thick woolen mittens, socks, and scarves warm enough to cut even the cold of a Finnish winter. The booths piled high with fur pelts and hats are the most congested as customers jockey for position in front of a mirror to see how they look in a Russian-style hat. Most of the skins are from reindeer farmed by the Laplanders for food. (Helsinki has several restaurants serving Lapland delicacies, such as reindeer in cloudberry sauce.)

Since food, not tourism, is the heart of the market, produce stalls outnumber other vendors. Heaps of purple beets, big white onions, and orange carrots constitute an instant still life -- or the makings of borscht, a culinary staple with Russian roots. No booth is complete without a big pile of fresh yellow potatoes, pronounced some of the best in the world by no less an authority than a visiting Irish tourist. In early summer, bouquets of lilacs and lily of the valley perfume the air, and almost everyone eats bright red strawberries straight from the basket.

The market spills to the edge of the harbor where fishermen tie up their boats to sell their catch, weighing out each order as customers reach across the stern. The bounty continues in the red brick Old Market Hall, filled with fresh meat, eggs, and dairy products that cannot be sold outdoors. The two aisles of elegant wooden stalls also offer chocolates, pastries and baked goods, sausages, and a selection of caviar that would please a czar.

There are plenty of places to grab a bite to eat and lots to choose from -- grilled herring or salmon, corn on the cob, meat pies, ice cream, the always-popular doughnuts. But it is just as easy to round up a picnic sack of cheese, bread, and fruit and step to the dock for a perfect getaway. Throughout the day, a ferry (about $4 round trip) makes the 15-minute crossing through the harbor to Suomenlinna, a group of islands once called ``the Gibraltar of the North.''

Despite a lackluster military history (Suomenlinna was never taken by force, but surrendered twice without a fight -- to the Russians in 1809 and again to the British in 1855 during the Crimean War), the walled fortress has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In early summer, the islands are awash in lilacs introduced from Versailles. Several small museums feature military history and Nordic art, and the island's Orthodox church also functions as a lighthouse. Suomenlinna's strategic position provides the perfect vantage to watch boat traffic flow in and out of Helsinki Harbor. As the ferry makes the return trip, Helsinki seems to materialize from the islands and peninsulas of the Baltic coast.

It's a vision fit for a poet.