Gastronomy in Vyborg: Difference between revisions

'''Vyborg''' is known in Finnish history as an international culinary city. Sweden founded Vyborg Castle in 1293. Before that, there was a Karelian trading post in the area. Vyborg received city rights from Sweden in 1403. Russia conquered Vyborg from Sweden in 1721. In 1811, Vyborg was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Finland. Vyborg remained part of Finland until 1944, when it was ceded to the Soviet Union. Today, the city is part of Russia, but its international status as a cradle of progressive gastronomy ended in 1939.<ref>''Viipuri-opas suomalaisille / 50 kiinnostavaa nähtävyyttä'' (2020). Lasse Eerola. Bazar. </ref>

During the reign of King of Sweden Gustav Vasa, in the 1540s and 1550s, when Vyborg’s mercantile life was flourishing, guild halls, wine cellars, and beer taverns served as popular gathering places for merchants, sailors, and travelers arriving from abroad. Vyborg’s distinctly international character naturally extended to its tavern culture. By the 17th century, the city had gained a reputation for its lively and convivial atmosphere - reportedly more cheerful than that of Turku, as noted in a wedding poem written in 1709.<ref name=":0" />

Among the city’s most frequented evening venues were the town cellars and those owned by Antoni Borchardt. Borchardt’s cellar, located on Boskapsgatan (later Piispankatu), was particularly renowned and is regarded as the earliest known establishment historically referred to as a “restaurant.” Cellars typically had both a “better” and a “poorer” side: in the better section, leading burghers enjoyed southern wines and French brandies, while on the poorer side, petty traders and common townsfolk gathered over locally brewed beers served in juniper-wood mugs.<ref name=":0" />

At the beginning of the autonomous period, Vyborg still resembled a rural fortress town, where food culture was dominated by basic Karelian ingredients: rye bread, sour milk, fish, turnip, cabbage, peas, and porridges. Meat consumption was limited, and preservation methods such as salting and drying were common. With Russian soldiers and merchants came borscht soups, sour cream, spiced meats, and strong spirits, which merged with Karelian traditions.<ref name=":1" />

In the latter half of the 19th century, Vyborg prospered rapidly, and its restaurant culture began to resemble that of European metropolises. In the Torkkeli Park area, new social venues emerged, notably the restaurant Espilä (founded in 1890), which offered classical French cuisine with local nuances. The Vyborg Seurahuone Hotel, opened already in 1832 - a year earlier than its Helsinki counterpart - served international menus to travelers and merchants.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">''Ensiluokkainen on Espilä'' (2017). Riku Salpakari. Wiipuri.fi</ref>

In the everyday meals of an ordinary Vyborg resident in the early 20th century, Finnish-Karelian traditions remained visible: potatoes, rye bread, meat soups, salted fish, and pork fat were staples, while on festive occasions Karelian stew, pies, roast lamb, and wheat bread were prepared. Sunday lamb and potato dishes and Karelian pasties were typical regional specialties. Beer and wine were commonly enjoyed, as the number of breweries and taverns in Vyborg was exceptionally high by Finnish standards.<ref name=":1" />

Vyborg’s food culture served as a bridge between East and West. It combined Finnish raw ingredients with Russian flavors and German-French dining practices. The city’s elegant restaurants, lively market scenes, and cafés made Vyborg a gastronomically advanced center before its destruction in the Winter War of 1939.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />