Market Day at Lidköping’s Town Square

Market in our historic town square - one of Scandinavia’s largest!

History of the Town Square Market

In Magnus Gabriel De la Gardies’ city charter, from the 18th Juli 1671, merchants gained the right to freely set up their retail stalls as they liked, both in the new town square to the West of the river Lidan, and in the old town square, to the East. The city’s counsellors had been unhappy that farmers and merchants mainly arrived with goods only during town fairs, shunning regular market days. In 1679, taxation duty was therefore removed during market days. As a result, Saturdays have been popularly frequented market days in Lidköping since 1680, with the addition of Wednesdays since 1934 (except for Public Holidays).