Jyväskylä’s new market square will open for trading in 2028

Regular market trading will begin at Jyväskylä’s new market square in spring 2028, Yle reports. The square at Asema-aukiо is due to be completed in October 2027.

The market will move from Yliopistonkatu to Asema-aukio. The decision to relocate it was made in 2016, and construction is now under way.

Events will be held at the square after construction is completed, before regular market operations begin. Applications for market sellers, café operators and other commercial businesses will open no earlier than 2027.

Jyväskylä city project manager Pirkko Flinkman said moving a market to a different location is rare in Finland. Squares used for trading were established early in many cities’ histories, and growing cities typically do not have spare public squares available for relocation.

“Jyväskylä is in the fortunate position of having a square to which the activity can be moved,” Flinkman said. Asema-aukio has served as a parking area since the 1960s, when the number of cars began to increase.

Flinkman said the market operated at Asema-aukio in the late 1980s while the market square on Yliopistonkatu was being renovated. In the city’s early years, a horse market was held at Kirkkopuisto.

The city aims to develop Asema-aukio into a versatile urban space for market trading, food, events and culture, as well as everyday use by residents. Flinkman said a workshop had expressed a wish to create a place with its own identity rather than copy a market model from another city.

The city will hold a workshop on 23 September for market traders, event organisers, food businesses, operators at Asema-aukio and in the surrounding city centre, and representatives of city services.

New market square timeline

In autumn 2026, the city will prepare and decide on the operating model, administration, market regulations, market maps and other key principles.

In 2027, procurement, purchases and contract preparations will begin. The city will also build the future operating model and network of operators, and begin seeking sellers, café operators and other businesses. Asema-aukio is scheduled for completion, with events beginning towards the end of the year.

Regular market trading is scheduled to start at the new Asema-aukio square in spring 2028.