Vyborg pretzel

The origin of the Vyborg pretzel is connected with the founding of a Franciscan monastery in Vyborg in the second half of the 14th century. Franciscan monks or “Gray Brothers,” as the townspeople called them by the color of their clothes, were engaged in baking pretzels, whose recipe was kept in strict secrecy. The pretzel was eaten after fasting, handed out to the poor, and also sold, using the proceeds to repair the monastic buildings. The recipe for wheat pretzel, thanks to which Vyborg received the nickname “Pretzel City”, included numerous spices, such as nutmeg, cumin, marjoram, cloves and cardamom. The popularity of the pretzel was the reason that even after the closure of the monastery during the Reformation, it was still baked in Vyborg.

After the capture of Vyborg in 1710, the pretzel gained fame in Petersburg. Since the time of Peter I, he was delivered to the imperial court, was a treat at the assemblies ; Alexander III , a lover of the product, was also delivered to him by weekly courier mail from six Vyborg pretzels ^[1] . The history of Vyborg included the so-called “Pretzel War”, which broke out in the 19th century between two families of bakers: Whitetinen and Lyoponen, who fought for recognition as guardians of the “only true” recipe. So, even on the tombstone of Maria Whitetinen, who died in 1865, it was written that her pretzel was “out of competition”. On the other hand, Löppönen’s pretzels were awarded medals at world exhibitions . In 1900, Mrs. Löppönen’s pretzels won the gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris , but the supporters of the Whitetintonen made the decision to award the award canceled. But the secret of her recipe, Mrs. Whitetinen, took to the grave.

After the Soviet-Finnish Wars (1939–1944), the baking of Vyborg pretzels shifted to Lappeenranta ; they are currently sold in many Finnish cities. The pretzel is depicted on the emblem of the Vyborg community of Finns who were evacuated from the Karelian Isthmus. In modern Vyborg, baked goods under this name are also produced.

• Vyborg and surroundings. History, traditions, monuments. Collection of historical articles / Ed. L.G. Kalinin. - Vyborg: "NP-Print", 2012. - 60 p. - ISBN 978-5-9900189-4-5 .
• Pages of Vyborg history. Local Lore Notes / Comp. S.A. Abdullina. - Vyborg: European House, 2000. - 450 p. - ISBN 5-8015-0052-9 .