Historically, the market has been located in this place for quite a long time; there are preserved photographs of spontaneous trade from the 1920s. During the Soviet era, a park was located on the site of the market. After the collapse of the USSR and the establishment of a market economy, the place became in demand for the construction of a shopping complex. In 2009, the construction of the trading rows called TK "Udelny" was completed here. The unorganized market was pushed north, towards Poklonnogorskaya Street.
The largest flea market in St. Petersburg is located at the Udelnaya metro station, which is why it is called "Udelka." The market at Udelnaya is the most famous flea market in Russia. The flea market at Udelnaya, covering an area of more than 12,000 square meters, is situated on the strip between Fermskoye Highway and the railway. Here, on the outskirts of Petersburg, professional antique hunters and those simply wishing to take a trip into the recent past literally roam. You can find unique attributes of bygone eras here; collectors can pick up rare coins, and ordinary people can indulge the child within and buy some trinket that reminds them of those carefree times.
It is believed that the history of active trade in this area began at the beginning of the 20th century. Since the construction of the Udelnaya railway station in 1870, this area was popular among summer residents, and, naturally, locals would come to the arriving trains to sell their harvest. However, in the 20th century, a spontaneous market began to form here.
The "heyday" of local trade fell on the 1990s and the well-known era of shortages. In those difficult times, you could sell anything that was lying around at Udelnaya. The official opening date of the market as we know it and that still operates today is considered to be January 1, 2000.
There is so much antiquity and beauty here—from clothing to silverware, from car parts to Soviet chandeliers, posters, and really, everything you can imagine! You can walk around for hours admiring it all, and you don’t even have to buy anything.
The market is sort of divided into three parts – a "Chinese-style" flea market, similar to "Aprashka," rows of used goods like a second-hand store, and the most interesting part, which everyone calls the "flea market." In the first part, you can buy inexpensive new goods.
The second part looks very dubious – piles of "junk" that have been worn and washed, now piled up on the ground, and people rummage through it looking for something valuable.
The third part sometimes looks like a dump, but where things are neatly laid out and somewhat organized, it looks intriguing, and it is here that you can find something truly interesting and worthwhile.
If you don’t rush and carefully examine the goods, you can buy quite decent things at a ridiculous price. Photo: zen.yandex.ru
The flea market at Udelnaya is known far beyond the borders of St. Petersburg; it has even been included by reputable foreign publications in the list of places that foreign tourists must visit.
In 2012, Forbes ranked the Udelny market second in the world flea market rankings (Tokyo’s Togo Shrine was first). In 2016, the British publication The Guardian even included the flea market near the Udelnaya metro station in its recommended list of places for foreigners to visit. At first glance, it seems that "Udelka" is really a time machine, only it transports you to the realities of a post-Soviet market of the early 1990s. Here, junk dealers’ stalls neighbor piles of various junk sold right off the ground.
The pricing principles at the Udelny market are a separate mystery. It would seem that badges, Soviet coins, and banknotes—pride items for collectors—should cost a pretty penny, but they are traded practically for nothing. Shiny round coins with Lenin or Olympic rings lie on every third stall.
Residents renovate and throw out grandma’s Soviet tea sets and books? Old, rotting USSR maps are piled behind a cabinet in a school geography classroom? "Black diggers" have found German helmets from World War II in the swamps of the Leningrad region? A stack of the "Leningradskaya Pravda" newspaper from 1986 was discovered in a summer house attic? A war veteran grandfather left trophy watches and binoculars as an inheritance? It seems all this sooner or later ends up at "Udelka."
Officially, the market operates on weekends from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., but in fact, some trading pavilions and stalls operate on weekdays as well. However, if you want to see it "in all its glory," it’s better to plan your trip for Saturday or Sunday. On Sunday, the narrow rows of the flea market at the Udelnaya metro station in St. Petersburg are packed. Among the idly wandering and curious tourists, people who clearly know what they are hunting for scurry about: usually interior designers, resellers, or "professional" collectors. Some are not shy about bargaining with sellers and ask to cut the price in half—"for a wholesale purchase."
The deeper you go into the belly of the market, the trashier the trading conditions become. In the farthest corner of "Udelka," sellers don’t bother and lay out goods right on the ground. The flea market even has a website: https: блоха.com, where you can search for what you need and arrange a direct meeting with the seller so they can hold the item for you.
Sources:
https://huunghivietnga.thoidai.com.vn/detail-article-28173.html
https://kudago.com/spb/place/udelka/
