Showing posts with label Skien. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skien. Show all posts

Monday 30 August 2010

Snipetorpmarken



On the last Sunday of August each year, there's a large street market taking place called "Snipetorpmarken" just a few minutes walk from where we live, in the street down towards the town centre.

This year there were as many as 120 market stalls and almost 15. 000 people visiting during the four hours the market was open. Not bad for a town with a population of about 50. 000. Here are some photos I took to show you, I also bought two miniatures that I will show you in a later post. Because of the moving crowd it was hard to get good photos, but if you google Snipetorpmarken I'm sure you will find many other photos and much better ones too :-)



This house with a pottery shop on the ground floor won a prize for restoration this year.



In a basement by the street there is a tiny art exhibition which is open just this one Sunday each year.


But some are more interested in babies than art.



At the market you can buy all kinds of crafts, local food, old books and other second hand items. Here's some nice pottery.



Some of the visitors were slightly taller than the others
..




And some were dressed up in period clothes from Ibsen's time. The house to the right has a plaque commemorating that Henrik Ibsen lived there for three adolescent months. (I think it's a bit too short to make a fuzz about..)





More tall ladies.



A sudden shower, but it seems almost everyone was prepared.

UPDATE: A comment from Sans reminded me I forgot to tell you that the Snipetorp area was the only part of town that survived the great town fire in 1886 and it contains many 17th and 18th century buildings. The profit from the street market goes back to the area and has made it possible to pay for old style street lamps and trashbins and stone pavement.