Archive for January, 2012

VilNews is on its way around Europe!
Throughout January you are all invited on a
journey from north to south, from east to west. Some
articles will dwell with history. Some with Lithuanian contact
points in various countries. I have travelled across Europe with
camera and notepad for nearly 40 years and hope you will enjoy seeing
and reading about some of my experiences. Today's tour starts at the top of
Norway. We visit Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki. Have a nice trip!

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė on a two-day state visit to Norway in 2011. The President was officially
welcomed at the Royal Palace, where she met with King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway,
Crown Prince Haakon and his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and Princess Astrid.
Photo: www.president.lt

Today's tour starts in the far north of Norway, and continues south
through beautiful landscapes and vast wilderness adventures
before we get to the capitals of Norway, Denmark,
Sweden and Finland.

Tour guide: Aage Myhre
aage.myhre@VilNews.com

Lithuania’s best future lies

in a Nordic union

New collaboration constellations are forming in our today’s Europe, very much due to the financial crisis.

This new approach, between countries that previously were relatively far apart, as well as the so-called G-8 and G-20 alliances between the world's richest countries are examples of how we seem to be moving into a new World Order. Also in good old Europe we are now beginning to develop entirely new constellations.

Typical of such constellations is that the largest and richest countries take initiatives to secure their own positions and welfare, while smaller countries often have to put up with playing second fiddle.

What the three Baltic States now face is that being members of the EU is not enough. The economic crisis, and partly also questions on defence and security, have led to new forms of cooperation, as the aforementioned , and our small nations far north in Europe are not invited to become active participants.

It is therefore my opinion that a tight collaboration with the other Nordic countries is the way to go. Together we are large enough to be heard and our common identity and cultural background is a good basis for cooperation.

In the 13th century, an alliance of Northern European towns called the Hanseatic League created what historian Fernand Braudel called a “common civilization created by trading.” Today’s expanded list of Hansa states share Germanic and Scandinavian cultural roots. Germany and the Scandinavian countries have found their niches by selling high-value goods to developed nations, as well as to burgeoning markets in Russia, China, and India.

Widely admired for their generous welfare systems, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Germany have liberalized their economies in recent years. They account for six of the top eight countries on the Legatum Prosperity Index and boast some of the world’s highest savings rates (25 percent or more), as well as impressive levels of employment, education, and technological innovation.

“In strategies that we are developing for the next twenty years emphasize that it is important for the Baltic States to become more harmonized and catch up with Scandinavian countries. Integration with Nordic countries is an important objective,” said Andrius Kubilius, Lithuania’s prime minister, in a meeting in Tallinn last year. I think he is right.

The Nordic model

The Nordic model refers to the economic and social models of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland). This particular adaptation of the mixed market economy is characterised by "universalist" welfare states (relative to other developed countries), which are aimed specifically at enhancing individual autonomy, ensuring the universal provision of basic human rights and stabilising the economy. It is distinguished from other welfare states with similar goals by its emphasis on maximising labour force participation, promoting gender equality, egalitarian and extensive benefit levels, large magnitude of redistribution, and liberal use of expansionary fiscal policy. “America’s social model is flawed, but so is France’s,” the Parisian newspaper Le Monde recently wrote. According to Le Monde Europe should adopt the “Scandinavian model,” which is said to combine the economic efficiency of the Anglo-Saxon social model with the welfare state benefits of the continental European ones.

Norway – oil, fjords, fish & ships

Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy, with King Harald V as its head of state, whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of about five million. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords.

Two centuries of Viking raids tapered off following the adoption of Christianity by King Olav Tryggvason in 994. A period of civil war ended in the 13th century when Norway expanded its control overseas to parts of the British Isles, Iceland, and Greenland. Norwegian territorial power peaked in 1265, but competition from the Hanseatic League and the spread of the Black Death weakened the country. In 1380, Norway was absorbed into a union with Denmark that lasted more than four centuries. In 1814, Norwegians resisted the cession of their country to Sweden and adopted a new constitution. Sweden then invaded Norway but agreed to let Norway keep its constitution in return for accepting the union under a Swedish king. Rising nationalism throughout the 19th century led to a 1905 referendum granting Norway independence.

Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU.

The Sámi people have a certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament and the Finnmark Act. Although having rejected European Union membership in two referenda, Norway maintains close ties with the union and its member countries, as well as with the United States. Norway remains one of the biggest financial contributors to the United Nations, and participates with UN forces in international missions, notably in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sudan and Libya.

Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, fresh water, and hydropower. On a per-capita basis, it is the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside the Middle East, and the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product. The country maintains a Nordic welfare model with universal health care, subsidized higher education, and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has the world’s highest human development index ranking.

Norway’s merchant fleet is among the biggest in the world. Norwegian companies control approximately 23% of the world's cruise vessels, 19% of the world's gas carriers, 19% of the world's chemical tankers and 10.5% of the world's crude oil tankers.

Welcome to my birthplace Olaheim at the Senja island!

Here, in the tiny village of Olaheim on the island of Senja in Northern Norway, I grew up in the 1950s. At that time we had neither running water nor electricity in the house. We survived on hunting, fishing and a small farm with one cow and a handful of goats and sheep. No road access to the rest of the world.

Today this is a completely different, far more modern community with facilities and standards as the rest of Norway. You are welcome to visit. I'm taking you with me for fishing in the lake right by, or in the ocean off the island. Or how about a trip up in the vast mountains, some of which are a thousand meters high, plummeting straight down into the many Senja fjords?

It is among the indigenous people that the answers are to be found

Left: Sjøsame (Sea Sami) from Troms or Finnmark county. Right: Sea Sami in Lofoten for cod fishing in the 1800s.
Photos: Samenes-historie.origo.no

"The wisdom of the future comes from the north. That’s what our ancestors told us." The Mayan Indian in front of me is talking very seriously. Looking me straight in the eyes. He, a true child of the world's most famous indigenous people. From the south. Me a person with just a hint of Sami blood. From the north.

It surprises me that a Mayan Indian speaks like this. I have in a way thought of the Mayas as more indigenous than my own Sami people. But this is what he tells me, saying that his ancestors through the centuries have meant that it is the indigenous peoples of the North who have the answers, the future wisdom.

I feel that he is a little off. I think it's more a question of what kind of environment the different indigenous people are living in. That the Mexico City-Indian is less open and sensitive than the Indian from the mountains of Guatemala. That the Sami with snowmobiles have less contact with their inner spiritual lives than the previous reindeer Sami and coastal Sami. That it is less a question about south or north. More about how you manage to keep and maintain your inner power.

The indigenous people's ability to 'see' more and deeper than the more modern versions within humanity is a resource that has been little exploited. More mocked and made fun of. Indigenous peoples' close contact with their ‘other dimension’ has often been regarded as ravings. The people of today find it hard to believe that people have qualities that cannot be explained by reason. But perhaps it is rather the understanding of the concept of 'common sense' there is something wrong with?

My Sami ancestral religion was shamanistic. The spiritual leader, the shaman or noaidiwas was the 'link' between humans and the spirit world. To establish contact he beat rhythmically on a goavddis, a drum with painted drawings.

That way he could he predict the hunting and fishing outcomes, tell people about their physical and spiritual life. Present, past and future. Nature's soul speaking through the shaman.

Again. Does not this sound like dreams from primitive people without education and knowledge? I do not see it like that. I have great respect for my ancestors and their ability to live in contact with the spirit world.

There are more than 30 indigenous people in the eight nations with territory above the Arctic Circle. Their spiritual qualities have been around for thousands of years. When will present people start listening? Ask for answers?

My grandfather, a ‘sjøsame’ (a Sami that does fishing instead of reindeer herding) from Tana in Finnmark, was dead before I was born. But the genes are alive.

"Trondheim is the world's most ideal city." This was the conclusion of a U.S. research group that travelled around the world to find the ideal city. The group's report highlighted that

Trondheim is a 'mini-city' of adequate size, with wide streets, low buildings, good air, a small, efficient centre core and glorious surroundings. Not bad certificate for the city that was my home for several years...

Trondheim is Norway's capital of technology, a lively and historical university town, and home to the Nidarosdomen Cathedral.

With a population of about 165,000, Trondheim counts itself as Norway's third largest city.

Denmark – food, culture & energy

The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark consists of a large peninsula, Jutland (Jylland) and many islands, most notably Zealand (Sjælland), Funen (Fyn), Vendsyssel-Thy (commonly considered a part of Jutland), Lolland, Falster and Bornholm, as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago. Denmark has long controlled the approach to the Baltic Sea (dominium maris baltici); before the digging of the Kiel Canal, water passage to the Baltic Sea was possible only through the three channels known as the "Danish straits".

Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. It has a state-level government and local governments in 98 municipalities. Denmark has been a member of the European Union since 1973, although it has not joined the Eurozone.

Denmark, with a mixed market economy and a large welfare state, ranks as having the world's highest level of income equality. It has frequently ranked as the happiest and least corrupt country in the world. The national language, Danish, is closely related to Swedish and Norwegian, with which it shares strong cultural and historical ties.

Danish cuisine, originating from the peasant population's own local produce, was enhanced by cooking techniques developed in the late 19th century and the wider availability of goods after the Industrial Revolution. The open sandwiches, known as smørrebrød, which in their basic form are the usual fare for lunch, can be considered a national speciality when prepared and decorated with a variety of fine ingredients. Hot meals traditionally consist of ground meats, such as frikadeller (meat balls), or of more substantial meat and fish dishes such as flæskesteg (roast pork with crackling) or kogt torsk (poached cod) with mustard sauce and trimmings. Denmark is known for its Carlsberg and Tuborg beers and for its akvavit and bitters although imported wine is now gaining popularity.

Danish chefs, inspired by continental practices, have in recent years developed an innovative series of gourmet dishes based on high-quality local produce. As a result, Copenhagen and the provinces now have a considerable number of highly acclaimed restaurants, of which several have been awarded Michelin stars. The Noma restaurant in Copenhagen is a two Michelin star restaurant run by chef René Redzepi. The name is an acronym of the two Danish words "nordisk" (Nordic) and "mad" (food), and the restaurant is known for its reinvention and interpretation of the Nordic Cuisine. In both 2010 and 2011, it was ranked as the Best Restaurant in the World.

In 1973, during the Yom Kippur war, Denmark was 98% dependent on foreign oil for its power. Today, thirty-two years later, the country derives 21% of its energy from wind and is a net exporter of energy.

Sweden – technology & islands

Finland – Nokia & thousand lakes

Soviet propaganda poster during the Winter War.

Finland was part of Sweden for seven hundred years, and through one hundred years governed by Tsarist Russia. The country achieved full independence in 1917 and quickly became more prosperous than Russia. Perhaps this was part of the reason why Stalin in November 1939 decided to attack Finland. He soon found out that the Finns are tough people, with deep knowledge of how the Russians operate.

The Winter War was a fight to the death between small Finland and the mighty 'Evil Empire'. Stalin expected to conquer Finland already by the end of 1939, but the Finnish resistance stopped long the numerically superior invasion force. The Finns held out until 13 March 1940, when a peace agreement was signed. During much of the war Finland tried to negotiate through the Swedish government. Most of the inquiries resulted only in stricter Soviet requirements, and the peace was declared, Finland had to cede more land than what was in the original peace plan from the autumn of 1939.

Why didn’t the Baltic States fight like Finland did?

In a recently published book, '1939, The Year That Changed Everything in Lithuania's History ', the author Arnas Liekis presents an unflattering picture of the Baltic leaders at the time before World War II. In Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, he says, no formal military resistance was provided, while Finland fought through their bloody winter war and survived the Soviet attack. The outcome was that brave Finland after the war evolved as one of the world's free, leading nations, while the Baltic states remained poor and forgotten under Soviet domination until 1990-91.

Finnish architecture is different, exciting. Modern. Only12 percent of the buildings were built before independence in 1917. The first international breakthrough for Finnish architecture took place at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900, while national romanticism was still the dominant style.
From the 1930s, functionalism was the symbol for the construction of this ambitious nation and in the 1950s, Modernism took over. Since then, Finland has developed its own style, not least to the works of architect

AlvarAalto (1898-1976) shows. He designed more than 500 buildings, about 300 of them were built, most of them in Finland, but also some in the U.S., Germany, Italy and France. Aalto's wide design activities ranging from urban planning and architecture to interior and furniture design, glass design (Iittala) and painting.

Alvar Aalto. Finlandia House (1962-1975).

One of the most impressive features of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the seaward approach to the city. The numerous islands and islets are all beautifully green, very neat. Finland leads, also this way.

Sveaborg (left), at the entrance to Helsninki, is one of the world's largest coastal forts from the 1700s, often known as the Nordic Gibraltar.

 VilNews is on its way around Europe! 
Throughout January you are all invited on a 
journey from north to south, from east to west. Some 
articles will dwell with history. Some with Lithuanian contact
points in various countries. I have travelled across Europe with 
camera and notepad for nearly 40 years and hope you will enjoy seeing
and reading about some of my experiences. Today's tour starts in Vienna,
and continues through North Austria to many German sites. Have a nice trip! 

 Our today’s trip starts in Vienna, home of Freud and the Strauss family.
From here we go west, to Linz and Salzburg, then crossing into Bavaria in
Germany. We visit Munich, continue to Schwarzwald’s many small and
picturesque villages, before heading north to the Hanseatic lands.
We end up in towns of great importance for Lithuania... 

Tour guide: Aage Myhre
aage.myhre@VilNews.com

Authentic Austria

Austria  is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language.[8] Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.

The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.

When the Habsburg (Austro-Hungarian) Empire collapsed in 1918 with the end of World War I, Austria used German Austria („Deutschösterreich”, later „Österreich”) as the state name in an attempt for union with Germany but was forbidden due to the Treaty of Saint Germain. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919. In the 1938 Anschluss, Austria was occupied and annexed by Nazi Germany. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Nazi Germany was occupied by the Allies and Austria's former democratic constitution was restored. In 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral.

Today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states.  Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $48,350 (2011 est.). The country has developed a high standard of living and in 2011 was ranked 19th in the world for its Human Development Index.

Hallstatt, Austria.

If any European capital knows how to enjoy the good life, it’s Vienna. Compared to most modern urban centers, the pace of life here is slow. Locals linger over pastry and coffee at cafés. Concerts and classical music abound. And chatting with friends at a wine garden is not a special event but a way of life.

For many Viennese, the living room is down the street at the neighborhood coffeehouse, which offers light lunches, fresh pastries, a wide selection of newspapers, and “take all the time you want” charm (just beware of the famously grumpy waiters). Each coffeehouse comes with its own individual character. Café Sperl dates from 1880, and is still furnished identically to the day it opened—from the coat tree to the chairs. Café Hawelka has a dark, “brooding Trotsky” atmosphere, paintings by struggling artists (who couldn’t pay for coffee), smoked velvet couches, and a phone that rings for regulars. Mrs. Hawelka died a couple of weeks after Pope John Paul II. Locals suspect the pontiff wanted her much-loved “Buchteln“ (marmalade-filled doughnuts) in heaven.

Make it a point to stop by Demel, the ultimate Viennese chocolate shop, filled with Art Nouveau boxes of choco-dreams come true: “Kandierte Veilchen” (candied violet petals), “Katzenzungen” (cats’ tongues), and much more. An impressive cancan of cakes is displayed to tempt you into springing for the 10-euro cake-and-coffee deal (point to the cake you want). You’ll sure to see Sacher torte, the local specialty. Apart from its apricot filling, the recipe seems pretty simple...chocolate on chocolate. You can sit inside the shop, with a view of the cake-making, or outside, with the street action. Fancy shops like this boast on their sign: “K.u.K.” (meaning good enough for the “König und Kaiser” – king and emperor).

For another royally good experience, head to the wine gardens. Clustered around the edge of town, mostly in the legendary Vienna Woods, wine-garden restaurants feature cold-cut buffets paired with fine Austrian wines in an old-village atmosphere with strolling musicians. If you visit in fall, try Sturm, the semi-fermented new wine made from the season’s first grape harvest and only available in autumn. Many locals claim that it takes several years of practice to distinguish between Sturm wine and vinegar. The red version is so hearty and fruity that locals say “Eat up!” when toasting with it.

The Café-Restaurant Weimar is one of the classic coffee houses of Vienna's 9th District, the area where Sigmund Freud lived and conducted his psychological investigations. Nice, even in rain.
Photo: Aage Myhre.

Vilnius and Linz were European twin-capitals of culture in 2009

Linz and Vilnius were the European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) in 2009. Linz did well. Vilnius was very much a failure.

Linz implemented one of the largest ECOC cultural programmes to date, undertaking 200 projects involving 7,700 events and 5,000 artists and attracting audiences of nearly 3.5m people.  The programme featured a number of European festivals/events, as well as performances, commissions, collaborations and residencies featuring artists from 66 nations, many of whom were operators  of international significance.  Activities took place across the city and on all 365 days of the title year.  Highlights included a range of projects dealing with Linz's Nazi past (such as an exhibition exploring the difficult subject of the "Führermuseuem”), “80+1: Eine Weltreise” (a virtual journey round the world hosted), “Kultur-hauptstadtteil des Monats” (a series of community arts events in areas of the city designated as 'cultural capital neighbourhood of the month') and “Akustikon” (“World of Hearing”, an exhibition promoting the understanding of better acoustics). The Linz ECOC was successful in achieving a number of longer-term benefits for the city.  There is evidence of a significant economic impact as well as an improvement in the city’s tourist offer, in part through the improvement of partnership working, which contributed to a marked increase in tourist visits during the title year.  Key stakeholders also reported that the ECOC had a very positive effect on the opinions held by Linzers regarding their own city.  The ECOC was also successful in raising the participation of local people (particularly young people) in cultural activities, both as performers and as audiences.  Many of the cultural activities initiated in 2009 will continue and stakeholders report an

increase in the capacity of Linz’s cultural sector, in terms of greater experience, better collaboration, more positive attitudes and greater professionalism. 

In Vilnius the ECOC was subject to a number of changes before 2009 and in the first half of the title year.  First, the new government that took office after the general election at the end of 2008 faced a very large budget deficit and consequently reduced the budget for the cultural programme by about 40%.  Secondly, the total number of staff employed by the delivery agency was reduced by about one-half early in 2009.  Thirdly, there were two changes of director of the delivery agency – the first in 2007 and the second early in 2009.  The result of these changes was that some projects started much later than planned and a significant number (previously selected following the calls for proposals) did not take place at all.  It was not until the second and third months of 2009 that the situation began to be resolved, when a clear and simple governance structure was established, a new director took over at the agency and procedures were established for determining which projects would be cut from the programme.

The golden age of Austrian – Lithuanian relations in the 15^th – 16^th centuries

The Jagiellonian and Habsburg Dynasties ‘united’ in 1454 when Grand Duke Casimir married Austrian Elizabeth von Habsburg

The Jagiellonian dynasty was a royal dynasty originating from the Lithuanian House of Gediminas that reigned over the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Europe’s largest country in the 14^th-16^th centuries (present day Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, parts of Russia (including nowadays Kaliningrad oblast), Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia).

The Habsburg dynasty was another predominant force in Europe for several hundreds years. This house ruled over the Holy Roman Empire, Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Spain and many other realms in Europe. The Habsburgs were especially powerful and played an exceptional role in the history of Central and Eastern Europe.

This Jagiellonian dynasty started withVladislaus Jagiello, Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377-1401), who became King of Poland, marrying Jadvyga, the only daughter of the last King of Poland of the Andegawen dynasty (1386). In Lithuanian historiography this house is known as Gediminaiciai that is the descendants of Gediminas (c.1275-1341), grandfather of Jagiello and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1316-1341).

Over five hundred years ago dynastic relations were a significant part of European politics. They were used to acquire new lands and cement political alliances. Therefore, dynastic contacts between the two most powerful houses in Central Europe were inevitable.

When Casimir IV Jagiello, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania married  Elizabeth of Habsburg in 1454 that became the first Habsburg-Jagiellon marriage ever contracted. The copule was a “Dream Team” of the late Middle Ages. Their wedding in 1454 (she was 17, he was 27) trigged off a historical golden era for Poland and Lithuania, which lasted over 100 years and ended in 1572 with the death of their grand-son Igismund II Augustus. Those were the glorious days of the Jagiellon dynasty

Elizabeth von Habsburg (Elzbieta Habsburgaite)  was called „Mother of the Jagiellons”, as she gave birth to 12 children, whereof six sons, among them the later Polish-Lithuanian King and Grand Duke Sigismund the Old (1467-1548).

The Austro-Lithuanian couple seems to have been successful in practically all their undertakings, not least in politics and in warfare. King Casimir died in 1492, so the marriage lasted for 38 years, which is quite remarkable for those times. In their lifetime and after, Lithuania was the major power in eastern Europe. Historians point out that Casimir and Elizabeth were also renowned for their open-mindedness and tolerance. Cracow was then a rich and splendid royal residence, and its close contacts to Prague and Vienna certainly were of great mutual advantage. The Jagiellon courts were international meeting places of noblemen, intellectuals and artists.

Grand Duke Casimir IV KG (1427 – 1492) of the House of Jagiellon was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He married to Elisabeth of Austria (1436 – 1505) in 1454. She became known as „Mother of the Jagiellons”. 

Europe in 1490, when Grand Duke Casimir’s reign was coming to its end and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was Europe’s largest country.

Two Austrian sisters married Lithuania’s  Grand Duke Sigismund Augustus 

The older sister is buried in Vilnius

Elisabeth of Austria (1526 – 1545) was the eldest child of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. Elisabeth was a member of the House of Habsburg.

From an early age Elisabeth was being prepared for her marriage to Sigismund II Augustus (1520-1572), Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland, grandson of Grand Duke Casimir and Elizabeth of Austria.

Elisabeth's father had attempted to marry his daughter off to the Lithuanian Grand Duke when she was only one year old. In view of the fact that Elisabeth was the granddaughter of Vladislas II of Hungary, uncle of Sigismund, Pope Clement VII had to give a papal dispensation so the wedding could take place. So 16 year old Elisabeth married 22 year old Sigismund, they married on May 6, 1543 in Wawel, Krakow. Elisabeth's mother-in-law Bona Sforza did not want the wedding to take place because she hated the Habsburgs.

The marriage was not happy. Young, inexperienced and shy Elisabeth was not attracted to her husband. The situation deteriorated when Elisabeth was diagnosed with an incurable disease, epilepsy. Throughout the duration of marriage Sigismund betrayed his wife by taking a mistress, Barbora Radvilaitė. At the same time Bona openly showed dislike to Elisabeth. The only person showing sympathy to Elisabeth was her father-in-law Sigismund I the Old. In autumn 1544 the couple moved from Poland to Vilnius, where her husband was heavily involved in an affair with Barbora Radvilaitė.

In the spring 1545 Elisabeth's health deteriorated, tormented by her increasingly frequent seizures of epilepsy. At the beginning of June 1545 Sigismund went to Krakow to receive the dowry of Elisabeth, he left his wife alone in Vilnius. On June 15 the young queen died exhausted by many seizures of epilepsy, she was just 19 years old. She was buried on August 24, 1545 in Vilnius Cathedral next to her husband's uncle, a brother of her grandfather, Alexander the Jagiellonian. Her quarrel with Bona Sforza over the Parmesan cheese was commonly known in both Poland and Lithuania.

Tomb of Elisabeth of Austria in Vilnius Cathedral.

The younger sister is buried in Linz

After Elisabeth's death Sigismund remarried to Radvilaitė and after her death he married Elisabeth's younger sister Catherine of Austria (1533 – 1572.. On June 23, 1553, she became the third wife of Sigismund II Augustus. Sigismund had no legitimate children from his three wives

Catherine became pregnant and miscarried in October 1554. After the miscarriage, the Grand Duke decided that his marriage was cursed because Catherine was sister of his first wife. He vainly attempted to have the marriage annulled, and in the autumn of 1566, Catherine left Lithuania and lived until her death in 1572 in Linz.

Catherine of Austria was buried in 1614 in the Sankt Florian monastery near Linz in Austria (picture).

Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg – the intellectual Cold War meeting point...

   
In 1965 the film The Sound of Music, directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews, was produced in Salzburg with the grounds adjacent to those of Schloss Leopoldskron as one of the main locations. 

Early in the 1980s, I sat in a ‘bierstub’ in Salzburg. I fell into conversation with an elderly gentleman and asked what he 

was working with. He then pulled out a 1000-shilling note from his wallet, pointing to the picture of a castle, and said that was where he worked. As castle manager. The castle, he said, was named after Count Leopold Anton Eleutherius von Firmian (1679-1744).

Schloss Leopoldskron is a rococo palace and a national historic monument in a southern district of the city of Salzburg. The palace is located on the lake Leopoldskroner Weiher. Leopoldskron-Moos, an affluent residential area, reaches to the foot of the 1853m high Untersberg and features a number of still working farms as well as a peat-bog. The palace has been home to the Salzburg Global Seminar since 1947.

The Salzburg Global Seminar is an American non-profit organization that holds seminars on economics, politics, and other issues for future political, economic, and business leaders from around the world. Its purpose is to "challenge current and future leaders to develop creative ideas for solving global problems." and to "lead the conversation for global change" through seminars held at the Schloss Leopoldskron.

The organization was founded in 1947 by three men at Harvard University--Clemens Heller, a graduate student originally from Austria, a college senior named Richard Campbell and a young English instructor named Scott Elledge. "We hope to create at least one small centre in which young Europeans from all countries, and of all political convictions, could meet for a month in concrete work under favourable living conditions," Campbell said of their intentions in January 1947, "and to lay the foundation for a possible permanent centre of intellectual discussion in Europe." The Salzburg Seminar, as it came to be called, was created to be a venue to encourage intellectual exchange among Europeans and Americans and to ameliorate rifts created by World War II.

Generous Germany

No big developed country has come out of the global recession looking stronger than Germany has. Exports are booming and unemployment falls to levels last seen in the early 1990s. The government is a stable, though sometimes fractious, coalition of three mainstream parties. Amid the truculence and turmoil around it, Germany appears an oasis of tranquillity.

A recent essay published by Bruegel, a Brussels think-tank, explains “why Germany fell out of love with Europe”. Another, from the European Council on Foreign Relations, alleges that Germany is “going global alone”. Jürgen Habermas, Germany’s most distinguished living philosopher, accuses his country of pursuing an “inward-looking national policy”. “How can you not ask Germany questions about its vision of the future of Europe?” wonders Jacques Delors, who was president of the European Commission when the Berlin Wall fell.

Even a pacific and prosperous Germany causes international angst...

The German question never dies. Instead, like a flu virus, it mutates. On the eve of unification some European leaders worried that it would resume killer form. “We’ve beaten the Germans twice and now they’re back,” said Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s prime minister. Such fears now look comical. But even today’s mild strain causes aches and pains, which afflict different regions in different ways. America’s symptoms are mild.

The October 1, 1946 Süddeutsche Zeitung announces "The Verdict in Nuremberg." Depicted are (left, from top): Göring, Hess, Ribbentrop, Keitel, Kaltenbrunner, Rosenberg, Frank, Frick; (second column) Funk, Streicher, Schacht; (third column) Dönitz, Raeder, Schirach; (right, from top) Sauckel, Jodl, Papen, Seyss-Inquart, Speer, Neurath, Fritzsche, Bormann. Image from Topography of Terror Museum, Berlin.

Nuremberg Trials. Defendants in the dock. The main target of the prosecution was Hermann Göring (at the left edge on the first row of benches), considered to be the most important surviving official in the ThirdReich after Hitler's death.

We have arrived in Würzburg, capital of the Franconian wines. Founded in the 10th century, Würzburg served as the home of powerful prince-bishops for many centuries. It is renowned for the Residence, regarded as one of the finest palaces in Europe and a high point of Baroque art. Würzburg is also home to one of the oldest churches in Germany, built in the 8th century on top of a former pagan shrine. One of its most famous structures, Festung Marienberg, is a fortress which now surrounds the church. Würzburg was the centre of the kingdom known as Franconia. In the 19th century, Napoleon merged Franconia with Bavaria, by which the city is ruled to this day.

Würzburg experienced heavy demolition during a 20-minute bombing raid in 1945 which destroyed some 80% of its city buildings. Much of the city has since been rebuilt, though not as painstakingly true to its original architecture as some other historic german communities. Anyone eager to visit this town to study its historic architectural structures should be prepared to see its restored buildings placed next to several post-war modernistic houses. Today Würzburg is a beautiful, historic, and lively city that is often overlooked by foreign visitors.

We drive south-west after Würzburg, to Germany’s Black Forest, a truly attractive, romantic area with mountains, hills and endless forests. I love all the small curved roads, the picturesque villages, the cows, the feeling of warm friendliness...

The Black Forest (Schwarzwald) is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres (4,898 ft). The region is almost rectangular with a length of 200 km (120 mi) and breadth of 60 km (37 mi). Hence it has an area of approximately 12,000 km2 (4,600 sq mi). The name Schwarzwald, i.e. Black Forest, goes back to the Romans who referred to the thickly forested mountains there as Silva Nigra, i.e. "Black Forest," because the dense growth of conifers in the forest blocked out most of the light inside the forest.

Freiburg – most sunny in Germany

Down to the river Rhine after the mountainous Balck Forest, to Freiburg im Breisgau, a sunny city in Baden-Württemberg in the extreme south-west of the country. It straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain. One of the famous old German university towns, and archiepiscopal seat, Freiburg was incorporated in the early 12th century and developed into a major commercial, intellectual, and ecclesiastical centre of the upper Rhine region. The city is known for its ancient university and its medieval minster, as well as for its high standard of living and advanced environmental practices. The city is situated in the heart of a major wine-growing region and serves as the primary tourist entry point to the scenic beauty of the Black Forest, supposed to be the sunniest and warmest in Germany.

Baden Baden – the spa town loved by Romans

The German word, 'Baden,' translates as 'baths.' The springs of Baden-Baden were known to the Romans, and the foundation of the town refers to the emperor, Hadrian, with an inscription of somewhat doubtful authenticity. The bath-conscious Roman emperor, Caracalla, once came here to ease his arthritic aches. Baden was also known as Aurelia Aquensis, in honour of Aurelius Severus, during whose reign Baden would seem to have been well known. Fragments of its ancient sculptures are still to be seen, and, in 1847, the well preserved remains of Roman vapour baths were discovered just below the New Castle.

Heidelberg – my lively favourite

Heidelberg is a lively city, clearly one of my favourites in Germany. The fifth-largest city in the State of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Freiburg im Breisgau, Heidelberg is part of the densely-populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. In 2009, over 145,000 people lived in the city. Heidelberg lies on the River Neckar in a steep valley in the Odenwald. A former residence of the Electoral Palatinate, Heidelberg is the location of the University of Heidelberg, well-known far beyond its and Germany's borders. Heidelberg is a popular tourist destination due to its romantic and picturesque cityscape, including Heidelberg Castle and the baroque style Old Town. Amazing place!

The Lithuanian school in the Rennhof Manor, Lampertheim-Hüttenfeld

By that time, however, it was becoming apparent that Lithuania was likely to remain occupied for the foreseeable future. Lithuanian refugees began to leave war-ravaged Germany. Most emigrated to distant countries—foremost among them the United States, Canada, and Australia. In the wake of their departure, most of these schools were shuttered. But approximately 8,000 Lithuanians chose to remain in Germany.

In 1950, Germany’s Lithuanian Community established a single high school for Lithuanian students. The high school was founded in Diepholz—the site of a displaced persons camp where many Lithuanians had lived since the end of the war. In 1954, the Lithuanian Community acquired Rennhof Manor House with its twelve-acre park in the town of Lampertheim-Hüttenfeld. The school was relocated there.

Throughout Lithuania’s 50-year struggle for independence from Soviet rule, the Lithuanian High School promoted engagement with Lithuania as well as support for dissidents fighting for freedom and human rights behind the Iron Curtain.

With the advent of the reform movement Sąjūdis in the mid-1980s, the Lithuanian High School became an increasingly important conduit for ideas and support for reforms that led to Lithuanian independence in 1990.

Following the reestablishment of independence, the school continued to serve as a cultural center for Lithuanians in Western Europe and a bridge between Lithuania and the West, providing an opportunity for the children of Lithuanian expatriates to integrate without losing their Lithuanian identity.

Receiving full state accreditation in 1999, the Lithuanian High School remains the only full-time Lithuanian educational institution in Western Europe.

The Rennhof Manor in Lampertheim-Hüttenfeld has a unique position for Lithuanians, harbouring numerous Lithuanian organizations, which has figured as the centre of Lithuanian émigré community life in Western Europe since 1953.

Go to the school’s website to learn more about the school: http://gimnazija.de

To learn about other Lithuanian youth activities in Germany, go to: http://www.pljs.org/category/english

Bonn – the post-war capital of West Germany

Bonn was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999. Starting in 1998, many national government institutions were moved from Bonn to Berlin. Roughly half of all government jobs were retained as many government departments remained in Bonn and numerous sub-ministerial level government agencies relocated to the former capital from Berlin and other parts of Germany. Bonn has developed into a hub of international cooperation in particular in the area of environment and sustainable development. Bonn The Poppelsdorfer Schloss (picture), in which there is the “Mineralogisch-Petrologische Museum” today.

 Cologne – not only perfume

Cologne  is Germany's fourth-largest city, and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants. Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the city's most famous monument and the Cologne residents' most respected landmark. It is a Gothic church, started in 1248, and completed in 1880.

Eau de Cologne, “Water of Cologne”, is a toiletry, a perfume in a style that originated from Cologne. As of today cologne is a blend of extracts, alcohol, and water. Colognes are used by men and women but are generally marketed to men as an alternative to perfume.

 Bremen – go sailing or fishing!

Bremen is a Hanseatic city in north-western Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area (2.4 million people). Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany. With Bremerhaven right on the mouth the two comprise the state of Bremen. The Bremen Ports are among the most important universal harbours of Europe. The air of a seafaring port bursts from every corner of the busy but young seaport, which offers a range of attractions along miles of waterfront promenades, in generous areas of parkland and on the scenic River Geeste.

 Hamburg – the cosmopolitan Hansa town

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the seventh-largest city in the European Union. The city is home to over 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg Metropolitan Region has more than 4.3 million inhabitants. Situated on the river Elbe, the port of Hamburg is the third-largest port in Europe and it is among the twenty largest in the world.

Hamburg's official name is the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. It reflects Hamburg's history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League, as a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire, and also the fact that Hamburg is a city-state and one of the sixteen States of Germany.

Hamburg is a major transport hub in Northern Germany and is one of the most affluent cities in Europe.

We have arrived at Hamburg, the world's leading Hanseatic city. This is a remarkable, powerful metropolis that also clearly displays its 

traditional past in contact with the North Sea and Baltic Sea. This is also the place to go for tasty North-European seafood...

We leave Hamburg, drive south-east, to Quendlinburg, a small town of about 23,000 inhabitants, near the Harz Mountains in Germany’s western Saxon-Anhalt, virtually the heart of Germany. This town is a treasure which is rapidly evolving into a prime tourist attraction, particularly for non-Germans. And Lithuanians are first in the queue!

A rare combination of ancient, medieval and modern historical and artistic treasures are making it a "must" for visitors, much as Rothenburg, Trier, Lübeck and other German historical gems.

Unlike the others, such as Aachen, where Charlemagne (Karl der Grosse) held sway over the Franks, Quedlinburg 

is the birthplace of a Nation. For it was here in 919 A.D. that a Diet of noble ducal peers elected a German King, the Saxon Duke Heinrich, monarch of Germany-everything--, rather than merely a ruler of a local domain such as Bavarian or Rhenish or Hessian lands.

And this first hegemony extended for more than three centuries until Germany dissolved into almost 300 tiny city-states, provinces and squabbling communities, only to be reunited in 1871.

The first written occurrence of the name LITHUANIA has been

traced to the Annals from Quedlinburg Abbey, dated to 9 March year 1009

THE PASSAGE READS: "Sanctus Bruno, qui cognominatur Bonifacius, archiepiscopus et monachus, XI suae conversionis anno in confinio Ruscia et Litua a paganis capite plexus, cum suis XVIII, VII. Id. Martii petiit coelos." 

Quedlinburg Abbey.

The Annals of Quedlinburg  were written between 1008 and 1030 in the convent of Quedlinburg Abbey. In recent years a consensus has emerged that the annalist was a woman. The annals are mostly dedicated to the history of the Holy Roman Empire; they also contain the first written mention of the name of Lithuania ("Litua"), dated to 1009. The original document has disappeared, surviving only as a 16th-century copy held in Dresden, but its contents endure as a scholarly resource.

The city of Quedlinburg, Germany, was first mentioned in writing in a document dated to 922. Saint Mathilda founded a religious community for women at its abbey, serving as abbess from 966 to 999. The abbey became a premier educational institution for the female nobles of Saxony, and maintained its mission for nearly 900 years. The city served as an imperial palatinate of the Saxon emperors, where Henry the Fowler, the founder of the Ottonian dynasty, was buried. Quedlinburg was situated not far from Magdeburg, the Royal Assembly of the empire, and its annalists could therefore rely on genuine information from the royal house and obtain eyewitness accounts.The city lost some stature under the rule of Henry II, who broke with the tradition of celebrating Easter there; the Annals portray him unfavorably, and demonstrate the extent to which a royal monastery was entitled to criticize its monarch.

The Annals open with a chronicle of world history from the time of Adam to the Third Council of Constantinople in 680-681, based on chronicles by Jerome, Isidore, and Bede. The narrative is largely borrowed from multiple older sources until the year 1002, although original reports from as early as 852 are present. Beginning in 993, the narrative begins including events which represent the annalist's own eyewitness testimony concerning events at and around Quedlinburg. The amount of detail increases significantly from 1008 onwards, leading some analysts to conclude that 1008 was the actual date that the Annals were first compiled, although Robert Holzman argues for a start date of 1000. It has been suggested that the annalist temporarily abandoned the project between 1016 and 1021. The exact reasons for this suspension of the work are unknown. Work on the project continued between 1021 and 1030, when its authors were able to report a military victory against Mieszko II.

The primary task of the annalists was to record the heritage of the Ottonian dynasty and of Quedlinburg itself. The Annals incorporate the stories of a number of historic and legendary figures such as Attila the Hun, King Dietrich of the Goths, and others. The historian Felice Lifshitz has suggested that amount of saga material integrated into its narrative is without parallel.

The Annals of Quedlinburg became an important research source; during the 12th century they were used at least by five contemporary historians. Felice Lifshitz asserts that the Annals of Quedlinburg played a key role in shaping the ways in which influential Germans of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw their medieval past. They continue to be analyzed in other contexts: by scholars of Beowulf discussing its use of the term Hugones to mean Franks, by climatologists, and in a book discussing fear of the millennium.

The first written occurrence of Lithuania's name has been traced to the Quedlinburg Annals and dated to 9 March 1009.The passage reads:

"Sanctus Bruno, qui cognominatur Bonifacius, archiepiscopus et monachus, XI suae conversionis anno in confinio Ruscia et Litua a paganis capite plexus, cum suis XVIII, VII. Id. Martii petiit coelos."

"[In 1009] St. Bruno, an archbishop and monk, who was called Boniface, was struck in the head by Pagans during the 11th year of this conversion at the Rus and Lithuanian border, and along with 18 of his followers, entered heaven on March 9th."

From other sources that describe Bruno of Querfurt, it is clear that this missionary attempted to Christianize the pagan king Netimer and his subjects. However, Netimer's brother, refusing to accept Christianity, killed Bruno and his followers. The historian Alfredas Bumblauskas has suggested that the story records the first baptismal attempt in the history of Lithuania.

Quedlinburg Abbey was a house of secular canonesses in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Mathilda, the widow of Henry the Fowler, as his memorial. For many centuries it enjoyed great prestige and influence.

Quedlinburg Abbey was founded on the castle hill of Quedlinburg in the present Saxony-Anhalt in 936 by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, at the request of his mother Queen Matilda, later canonised as Saint Matilda, in honour of her late husband, Otto's father, King Henry the Fowler, and as his memorial. Henry was buried here, as was Matilda herself.

The "Kaiserlich freie weltliche Reichsstift Quedlinburg" ("Free secular Imperial abbey of Quedlinburg"), as its full style was until its dissolution in 1802, consisted of a proprietary church of the Imperial family to which was attached a college of secular canonesses (Stiftsdamen), a community of the unmarried daughters of the greater nobility and royalty leading a godly life.

Thanks to its Imperial connections the new foundation attracted rich endowments and was soon a wealthy and thriving community. Ecclesiastically, the abbess was exempt from the jurisdiction of her diocesan, the Bishop of Halberstadt, and subject to no superior except the Pope. The bishops of Halberstadt were constantly engaged in dispute with the abbesses, as they claimed to have spiritual jurisdiction over the abbey in virtue of subjection of women to men. In her political relations, the abbess was a princess of the Holy Roman Empire, entitled to seat in the College of Princes and a vote at the Diets.

During the Reformation the abbey became Protestant, under Abbess Anna II (Countess of Stolberg).

After the German Mediatisation of 1803 the abbey was taken over by the Kingdom of Prussia as the Principality of Quedlinburg.

There is more Lithuanian related history traces here in this area of Germany. We go to Magdeburg, the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe.

Emperor Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, lived for most of his reign in the town and was buried in the cathedral after his death. Magdeburg's version of German town law, known as Magdeburg rights, spread throughout Central and Eastern Europe. The city is also well known for the 1631 Sack of Magdeburg, which hardened Protestant resistance during the Thirty Years' War.

Nowadays Magdeburg is a traffic junction as well as an industrial and trading centre, with a population more than 230 000. The production of chemical products, steel, paper and textiles are of particular economic significance, along with Mechanical engineering and plant engineering, Ecotechnology and life-cycle management, Health management and Logistics. Along with ten other cities in Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia, Magdeburg is a member of the Central German Metropolitan Region.

The town's main symbol – the Cathedral of Magdeburg. Photo: Prinz Wilbert

Vilnius was granted Magdeburg rights on the 22^nd of March 1387

 In February 1387 Lithuania’s Grand Duke Jogaila began to institute the reforms in Lithuania, which were required by the conditions for the union with Poland. On February 17th, he established the Vilnius Bishopric. On February 20th, he declared the first of the privileges to the Lithuanian nobility, who had accepted Christianity. The privileges were the granting of rights equal to those held by the Polish nobility.

On February 22nd, he ordered all Lithuanians to accept the Catholic faith. Soon thereafter, he also established the first 7 parishes. The christening of Lithuania proved to be a tremendous social upheaval, even though Lithuania with her Pagan faith already exhibited the most important elements of civilisation, including brick architecture and writing. The Pagan Dukes were as advanced, as to go on military manoeuvres bringing a personal office with them. For example, the travelling bag of Skirgaila, which fell into the hands of the Crusaders in 1385, was found to contain "Ruthenian privileges sealed in lead."

On March 22^nd 1387, Jogaila granted Magdeburg Rights to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. Kaunas was granted Magdeburg Rights by Grand Duke Vytautas the Great in 1408, Trakai in 1409.

Magdeburg Rights or Magdeburg Law were a set of German town laws regulating the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by a local ruler.

Modelled and named after the laws of the German city of Magdeburg and developed during many centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, it was possibly the most important set of Germanic mediæval city laws. Adopted by numerous monarchs in Central and Eastern Europe, the law was a milestone in urbanization of the region and prompted the development of thousands of villages and cities. Apart from Magdeburg itself, notable towns based on Magdeburg Law (or its local variants) were Biecz, Frysztak, Sandomierz, Kraków, Kurów, Minsk, Polotsk, Poznań, Ropczyce, Łódź, Wrocław, Szczecin, Złotoryja, Vilnius, Trakai, Kaunas, Hrodna, Kiev, Lviv, Czernowitz (currently Chernivtsi in Ukraine), Brody, Lutsk, Volodymyr-Volynskyi, Sanok, Sniatyn, and Nizhyn, as well as Bardejov, Humenné and Krupina in present-day Slovakia.

Lithuania’s national painter and composer, Mikolajus K. Čiurlionis, studied in Leipzig

Čiurlionis studied composition under Professor Carl Reinecke and counterpoint under Salomon Jadassohn at the Leipzig Conservatoire in 1901-1902. As an external student he attended lectures in aesthetics, history and psychology. He listened to his favourite compositions by Handel, Tchaikovsky, Wagner and Liszt at the Gewandhaus and Leipzig Theatre. He studied independently orchestration of Berlioz and R. Strauss compositions at the library of C.F. Peters’ publishing house.

During his Leipzig period, he composed the symphonic overture Kęstutis, a string quartet in four movements, canons and fugues including Sanctus and Kyrie for mixed choir. During his vacations he did some drawing.

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area.

Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Electors and Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendour. The city was known as the Jewel Box, because of its baroque and rococo city centre. A controversial Allied aerial bombing towards the end of World War II killed thousands of civilians and destroyed the entire city. The impact of the bombing and 40 years of urban development during the East German communist era have considerably changed the face of the city. Some restoration work has helped to reconstruct parts of the historic inner city, including the Katholische Hofkirche, the Semper Oper and the Dresdner Frauenkirche. Since the German reunification in 1990, Dresden has regained importance as one of the cultural, educational, political and economic centres of Germany, with a population of more than half a million.

Dresden in the 20th century was a leading European centre of art, classical music, culture and science until its complete destruction on 13 February 1945. Being the capital of the German state of Saxony, Dresden had not only garrisons but a whole military borough, the Albertstadt. This military complex, named after Saxon King Albert, was never targeted in the bombing of Dresden.

During the final months of World War II, Dresden became a safe haven to some 600,000 refugees, including women, children, and wounded soldiers, with a total population of 1.2 million. Dresden was attacked seven times between 1944 and 1945, and was occupied by the Red Army after German capitulation.

The bombing of Dresden by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force between 13 February and 15 February 1945 remains one of the more controversial Allied actions of the Western European theatre of war.

The inner city of Dresden was largely destroyed by 722 RAF and 527 USAAF bombers that dropped 2431.0 tons of high explosive bombs, and 1475.9 tons of incendiaries.The high explosive bombs damaged buildings and exposed their wooden structure, while the incendiaries ignited it. The bombing raid destroyed the 500 year-old Cathedral, along with almost all of the ancient centre of the city. The German Dresden Historians' Commission, in an official 2010 report published after five years of research, concluded there were up to 25,000 civilian casualties, while right-wing groups claim that up to 500,000 people died.

Many Lithuanian war refugees experienced the bombing of Dresden in 1945

You may remember our VilNews story where we followed Regina Narusiene, today’s leader of the World Lithuanian Community, from her childhood in Kaunas during WWII till she settled with her family in the US after the war. As the Soviets reoccupied Lithuania in 1944, Regina and her parents managed to get out of Lithuania. They knew that the fate awaiting them under a Soviet-controlled Lithuania would be deportation to northern Siberia's frozen tundra.

Like so many other Baltic refugees they came to eastern Germany, where they lived for a while in Dresden and were witnesses to the bombing and terrible destruction that took place during the war's final months. Regina's parents followed the war developments closely, and realized that they had to get farther west into Germany, or otherwise they risked to come under Soviet control in the part of the country that later became the DDR (East Germany).

The day after the German surrender the family heading south-west. They had to walk 200 km on foot, while a smaller part of the trip took place on cattle trains. Finally they came to the city of Augsburg, north-west of Munich in the southern German region Bavaria where they stayed in a Displaced Persons camp until 1949, when a cousin in Chicago helped them to come over to the U.S.

VilNews is on its way around Europe! 
Throughout January you are all invited on a 
journey from north to south, from east to west. Some 
articles will dwell with history. Some with Lithuanian contact
points in various countries. I have travelled across Europe with 
camera and notepad for nearly 40 years and hope you will enjoy seeing
and reading about some of my experiences. Today's tour starts in Alsace,
France, and continues through Benelux to Oxford, England. Have a nice trip! 

Our today’s trip starts here in fantastic Strasbourg at the French-German border.
From here we go north-west, briefly visiting Germany, then through the
Benelux countries, crossing the Canal into good old England
to visit London, Cambridge and Oxford. 

Tour guide: Aage Myhre
aage.myhre@VilNews.com

Strasbourg and Alsace

The European Parliament is situated in Strasbourg

 Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament. The institution is legally bound to meet there twelve sessions a year lasting about four days each. Other work takes place in Brussels and Luxembourg City. Also all votes of the European Parliament must take place in Strasbourg. "Additional" sessions and committees take place in Brussels. Although de facto a majority of the Parliament's work is now geared to its Brussels site, but it is legally bound to keep Strasbourg as its official home.

The Parliament's buildings are located in the Quartier Européen (European Quarter) of the city, which it shares with other European organisations which are separate from the European Union's. Previously the Parliament used to share the same assembly room as the Council of Europe. Today, the principal building is the Louise Weiss building (left), inaugurated in 1999.

Lithuanian members in the European Parliament – they are there for you!

Laima Liucija ANDRIKIENĖ
Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)MemberLithuania Tėvynės sąjunga - Lietuvos krikščionys demokratai

Zigmantas BALČYTIS
Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European ParliamentMemberLithuania Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ
Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European ParliamentMemberLithuania Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija

Leonidas DONSKIS
Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for EuropeMember of the BureauLithuania Lietuvos Respublikos liberalų sąjūdis

Juozas IMBRASAS
Europe of freedom and democracy GroupMemberLithuania Partija Tvarka ir teisingumas

Vytautas LANDSBERGIS
Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)Member of the BureauLithuania Tėvynės sąjunga - Lietuvos krikščionys demokratai

Radvilė MORKŪNAITĖ-MIKULĖNIENĖ
Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)MemberLithuania Tėvynės sąjunga - Lietuvos krikščionys demokratai

Rolandas PAKSAS
Europe of freedom and democracy GroupVice-Chair/Member of the BureauLithuania Partija Tvarka ir teisingumas

Justas Vincas PALECKIS
MemberGroup of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European ParliamentMemberLithuania Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija

Algirdas SAUDARGAS
Member Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)MemberLithuania Tėvynės sąjunga - Lietuvos krikščionys demokratai

Valdemar TOMAŠEVSKI
Member European Conservatives and Reformists GroupMember of the BureauLithuania Lietuvos lenkų rinkimų akcija

Viktor USPASKICH
Member Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for EuropeMember of the BureauLithuania Darbo partija

Want to get a taste of Alsace in Vilnius?

The "Balzac" restaurant in Vilnius Old Town is owned and run by Thomas Teiten from northern Alsace, living in Lithuania already for several years. His restaurant was recently voted the best restaurant in Lithuania. More info

French cuisine, and more than 40 kinds of selected French wines. A bientôt !

From Choucroute to Madame Tussauds

Place Gutenberg is one of my favourite squares in Strasbourg. Here I sit a beautiful autumn day, behind the glass windows of one of the many restaurants around the square. I eat ‘Choucroute (sauerkraut)', an Alsatian specialty consisting of salt pork, sausages, cabbage and potatoes. With a lot of mustard – and a large tankard of beer from the Kronenbourg brewery in the city, established in 1664.

Johann Gutenberg (1398-1468), the man who is credited with the invention of the printing art, lived here in Strasbourg for 10 years. But his first printing press he built after moving from here, back to his hometown Mainz in Germany. Without Gutenberg, Martin Luther hardly been able to implement his reformation plans 150 years later. At least not with such far-reaching effects.

Choucroute (sauerkraut).

Madame Tussaud, self-portrait in wax.

I had long planned a ride to England. So here I sit. Reading. I find that the very symbol of London, wax queen Marie Tussaud (1761-1850) was born under the name Anna Maria Grosholtz here in Strasbourg. Soon I follow in her footsteps to London where her wax museum had its modest beginnings in 1835. 

Fun to drive on the other side of the road, I think when we drive up from the ferry port of Dover. We come to London, the city you simply can never get tired of. We visit Cambridge and Oxford. Seeing two of the world's leading student cities. Watching a student rowing competition. Proceed to the 'Lake District' and to Liverpool. Green, rolling hills outside the car windows. We like the English. But not their food so much.

Trier – where witches were burned

A common witch-hunting method was ‘swimming’ or ‘ducking’, whereby the accused was tied hand and foot and immersed in deep water. If the accused witch floated, the water (God’s creature) had rejected her and she was deemed guilty; if she sank (and drowned), she was deemed innocent. The accused could also be pricked all over with a sharp instrument (known as “pricking”) in the search for insensitive spots where the Devil had (visibly or invisibly) marked them. Other, more traditional, tortures were also used to elicit confessions and accusations against accomplices, including thumbscrews, leg vices, whipping stocks with iron spikes, scalding lime baths, prayer stools furnished with sharp pegs, racks, and the strappado (hoisting on a pulley to pull the arms from the sockets).Execution by burning, especially the particular form commonly called “burning at the stake” in which the condemned were bound to a large stake surrounded by burning faggots of wood, had a long history as a method of punishment for crimes such as treason and heresy. It was also used as a punishment for witchcraft during this period, although it was actually less common than hanging, pressing or drowning.

The ducking stool was a common method of interrogation and punishment during witch trials (from http://www.freewebs.com/
worcswychery/adiabolicalact.htm)

Luxembourg – richest in Europe

The sub-marine Netherlands

The Maastricht Treaty (formally, the Treaty on European Union or TEU) was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty. Upon its entry into force on 1 November 1993 during the Delors Commission, it created the European Union and led to the creation of the single European currency, the euro.

Lithuania originally set 1 January 2007 as the target date for joining the euro, as per the Maastricht Treaty, but the application was rejected by the European Commission because inflation was slightly higher (0.1%) than the permitted maximum. Lithuania has later expressed interest in a suggestion from the IMF that countries who aren't able to meet the Maastricht criteria should be able to "partially adopt" the euro, using the currency but not getting a seat at the European Central Bank.

Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466 – 1536) is quoted as stating;
“I congratulate this nation [Lithuania] which now, in sciences, jurisprudence, morals, and religion, and in all that separates us from barbarism, is so flourishing that it can rival the first and most glorious of nations.”

Erasmus, a.k.a. Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, (1466 -1536) was a Dutch humanist and theologian. He was born Geert Geertsen in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Erasmus died in 1536 in Basel, Switzerland. One of the most famous and amusing quotes from the noted scholar and translator Erasmus was, "When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes."

The Erasmus Programme (EuRopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students), a.k.a. Erasmus Project is a European Union (EU) student exchange programme established in 1987. It forms a major part of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013, and is the operational framework for the European Commission's initiatives in higher education.

Radovan Karadžić (born 1945) is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He was detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.

He was a fugitive from 1996 until July 2008 after having been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The indictment concluded there were reasonable grounds for believing he committed war crimes, including genocide against Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians during the Bosnian War (1992–95). While a fugitive he worked at a private clinic in Belgrade specialising in alternative medicine and psychology under the alias Dr. Dragan David Dabić. He was arrested in Belgrade on 21 July 2008 and brought before Belgrade’s War Crimes Court a few days later. He was extradited to The Hague, and is in the custody of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
In August 2008 Karadžić claimed there is a conspiracy against him and refused to enter a plea, therefore the court entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf to all 11 charges. He called the tribunal, chaired by Scottish judge Iain Bonomy, a "court of NATO" disguised as a court of the international community.  

In 2009, Karadžić filed a Motion challenging the legal validity and legitimacy of the tribunal, claiming that "the UN Security Council lacked the power to establish the ICTY, violated agreements under international law in so doing, and delegated non-existent legislative powers to the ICTY", to which the Prosecution response was that "The Appeals Chamber has already determined the validity of the Tribunal’s creation in previous decisions which constitute established precedent on this issue", therefore dismissing the Motion.

Wanted poster for Slobodan Milosevic, Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladic.

Belgium – home of EU and NATO

Wow… The Zaha Hadid architects recently won a competition
for a new port house – headquarters of the Antwerp Port Authority.

Welcome to Antwerp, the world’s diamond city, and the second largest port city of Europe (after Rotterdam in Holland, a few kilometres away).

The Antwerp Diamond Center covers one square mile, housing 1500 diamond companies and 4 diamond bourses. In this highly protected quarter, thousands of highly skilled diamond workers are active to keep up the international quality label ”Cut in Antwerp” based on a tradition of 5 centuries. Millions of diamonds are literally passing through their hands. The Antwerp diamond companies have the best polishers in the world.

On 10 November 2011 a new container train route between China, via Klaipeda Sea Port in Lithuania, to Antwerp, opened. On first trip it was transporting computer-aided equipment by transit from the Chongqing city of China via Lithuania to the second-largest port in Europe.

President Grybauskaitė’s five years in Brussels

Dalia Grybauskaitė (born 1 March 1956) is the current President of Lithuania, inaugurated on 12 July 2009.  Often referred to as the "Iron Lady" or the "Steel Magnolia", Grybauskaitė is Lithuania's first female head of state.

Lithuania joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, and Grybauskaitė was named a European Commissioner on the same day. She initially served as European Commissioner for Education and Culture, a position she held until 11 November 2004, when she was named European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget within the José Manuel Barroso-led Commission.

In November 2005, Grybauskaitė was named "Commissioner of the Year" in the European Voice Europeans of the Year poll. She was nominated "for her unrelenting efforts to shift EU spending towards areas that would enhance competitiveness such as research and development." She commented:

“I don't usually participate in contests, so this is a very pleasant surprise for me. I consider it a distinction not for me personally, but for all the new EU Member States, both small and large, as an acknowledgment of their bringing a new and fresh perspective to the EU. I think that it’s also a prize for having the courage to speak the often difficult truth and to point out the real price of political rhetoric in Europe. As for results, we still have to wait for them. An agreement on the budget for 2007–2013, which Europe really needs, is most important.”

As Financial and Budget Commissioner, she strongly criticized the EU budget, stating it was "...not a budget for the 21st century." The majority of the EU budget was spent on agricultural programmes. Grybauskaitė presented a 2008 EU budget in which, for the first time in its history, spending on growth and employment constituted the highest share of the budget, exceeding that of agriculture and natural resources. She frequently criticised the Lithuanian Government, headed by Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas, for its lack of response to the approaching financial crisis.

Great Britain is green & glorious

The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.

The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved national administrations, each with varying powers, situated in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh; the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories. The UK is a developed country and has the world's seventh-largest economy by nominal GDP and seventh-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It was the world's first industrialised country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state of the UK as well as of fifteen other independent Commonwealth countries. The monarch itself is symbolic rather than political, and only has "the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn". The United Kingdom has an uncodified constitution, as do only three other countries in the world. The Constitution of the United Kingdom thus consists mostly of a collection of disparate written sources, including statutes, judge-made case law and international treaties, together with constitutional conventions. As there is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and "constitutional law" the UK Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing Acts of Parliament and thus has the political power to change or abolish almost any written or unwritten element of the constitution. However, no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change.

Queen Elizabeth II.

The Palace of Westminster, seat of both houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

It is November. I'm on my way to London from Dover, in my own car. A bit weird to drive on the left side of the road. But London is fantastic, one of my absolute favourite cities in the world. Especially now that Christmas is approaching. This is the city to visit for Christmas shopping and much, much more. The special light. Lavishly decorated stores on Oxford Street. Good smell from every street corner. A pint at The White Lion in Covent Garden...

 
Lithuanian City of London Club

Lithuanian City of London Club is a members-only non-profit organisation established in late 2006 under the honorary patronage of H.E. Vygaudas Usackas, the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania.

The members of the Club are Lithuanian professionals (or professionals with ties/interests in Lithuania) based in London from a wide array of careers and pursuits, predominantly from the City.

The Club members get together for social networking, sporting and charitable events as well as for a wide array of topical discussions with business, political and other leaders from Lithuania and UK to foster professional and intellectual interaction between Club members and Lithuanian society. The Club is also building links with other organisations in the UK and actively participates in a number of initiatives and events in the Lithuanian community in London.
Currently the Club unites close to 200 members and partners who get together on a regular basis. LCLC Pub Social drinks are every last Thursday of the month. For more information about the Club and our activities, please email info@litcityclub.co.uk 

The Club's President: Daumantas Mockus, president@litcityclub.co.uk
The Board: Rasa Balsytė, Darius Daubaras, Raminta Dereškevičiūtė, Ieva Šatkutė 

LCLC Newsletter
You are welcome to read the 2^nd issue of LCLC’s Newsletter! With this publication, the Club aims to keep members, alumni, friends and other stakeholders abreast of LCLC's latest developments, news and adventures. And there have been aplenty! For those who missed the 1^st issue - a small recap.

Cambridge University is consistently ranked one of the top ten in the world

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about 50 miles (80 km) north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the city. Cambridge is well known as the home of the University of Cambridge, which has been consistently ranked one of the top ten universities in the world. The university includes the renowned Cavendish Laboratory, King's College Chapel, and the Cambridge University Library. The Cambridge skyline is dominated by the last two buildings, along with the chimney of Addenbrooke's Hospital in the far south of the city and St John's College Chapel tower in the north. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the city's population was 108,863 (including 22,153 students).

Cambridge University Lithuanian Society [CULS]

Cambridge University Lithuanian Society is predominantly Lithuanian, but also welcomes everyone from any background. The society goal is to promote Lithuanian culture as well as to take part in cultural interchange. We have several meetings each term and organise social events for broader audience. We are looking forward to seeing you. www.cu-ls.org/?lang=en

The New Adventures of Robin Hood was filmed in Lithuania

The New Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1997-1998 live action TV series on Turner Network Television. It was filmed in Vilnius, Lithuania and produced and distributed by Dune Productions, M6, and Warner Bros. International.

Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes. The origin of the legend is claimed by some to have stemmed from actual outlaws, or from ballads or tales of outlaws.

Robin Hood became a popular folk figure in the medieval period continuing through to modern literature, films and television. In the earliest sources, Robin Hood is a yeoman, but he was often later portrayed as an aristocrat wrongfully dispossessed of his lands and made into an outlaw by an unscrupulous sheriff. In popular culture, Robin Hood and his band of Merry men are usually portrayed as living in Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, where much of the action in the early ballads takes place. So does the very first recorded Robin Hood rhyme, four lines from the early 15th century, beginning: "Robyn hode in scherewode stod." However, the overall picture from the surviving early ballads and other early references suggest that Robin Hood may have been based in the Barnsdale area of what is now South Yorkshire (which borders Nottinghamshire).

From Leeds to Lithuania for mushy pea beer

My grandparents came from Kowno (now more often known as Kaunas) in Lithuania. I have long wanted to visit Lithuania, and recently I did. Programs and wars have all but erased the culture I tasted as a child in Leeds, and my grandparents knew in Kaunas, but I did manage to see mead being made, and to sample the richly honeyish, herbal result. The old brewery building still stood, a tiny brick tower that may be unique in Lithuania, but would not look out of place in the Black Country. It is at Stakliskes, between Kaunas and Vilnius, the capital. Its product is simply called Lithuanian Mead (Lietuviskas Midus).

Read more at: http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-000921.html

From Leeds our trip goes west, to Manchester. Here we find that there is a Lithuanian club with own premises in the city since the end of 1948, though the club as an organization has been in operation since 1925. It is the oldest Lithuanian organization in the UK. Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century, brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, and resulted in it becoming the world's first industrialised city. An early 19th-century factory building boom transformed Manchester from a township into a major mill town and borough that was granted city status in 1853. In 1894 the Manchester Ship Canal was built, creating the Port of Manchester.

The city is notable for its culture, music scene, scientific and engineering output, media links and sporting connections. Manchester's sports clubs include Premier League football teams, Manchester City and Manchester United. Manchester was also the site of the world's first railway station.

1954 Members' Rule Book

The Albert Dock is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Liverpool.

We have arrived in Liverpool – at the famous Mersey river and  the shores of the Irish Sea on England’s western coast.

The popularity of The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers and other groups from the Merseybeat era have made Liverpool famous, and contributes a lot to the city’s status as a tourist destination. Some may say that football also has played a role...

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880. As of 2001 Liverpool had a population of 435,500, and lies at the centre of the wider Liverpool Urban Area, which had a population of 816,216.
Historically a part of Lancashire, the urbanisation and expansion of Liverpool were both largely brought about by the city's status as a major port. By the 18th century, trade from the West Indies, Ireland and mainland Europe coupled with close links with the Atlantic Slave Trade furthered the economic expansion of Liverpool. By the early 19th century, 40% of the world's trade passed through Liverpool's docks, contributing to Liverpool's rise as a major city.
Inhabitants of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians but are also colloquially known as "Scousers", in reference to the local dish known as "scouse", a form of stew. The word "Scouse" has also become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect. Liverpool's status as a port city has contributed to its diverse population, which, historically, were drawn from a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, particularly those from Ireland. The city is also home to the oldest Black African community in the country and the oldest Chinese community in Europe.

Several areas of the city centre were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 2004. Referred to as the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City, the site comprises six separate locations in the city including the Pier Head, Albert Dock and William Brown Street and includes many of the city's most famous landmarks.

Liverpool is the home of two Premier League football clubs, Liverpool F.C. and Everton F.C.. Matches between the two clubs are known as the Merseyside derby.

Liverpool was the birthplace of the Beatles

Liverpool companies invited to Lithuania

Invest Lithuania was last October hosting a seminar at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce to introduce the advantages, opportunities and support available to UK companies interested in developing their business in Lithuania. It was a multi-sector seminar but particularly relevant to those working in IT, bioscience, financial services and manufacturing companies considering investing in R&D.

The seminar had a range of high quality speakers who introduced the Lithuanian market, its workforce and its competitive advantage as well as an overview of the support available to UK companies looking to invest in Lithuania. The speakers also gave detailed overviews of particular sectors and shared their experiences of working in Lithuania as well as giving the audience an opportunity to ask questions.

This seminar was part of a series run by CC Baltic on behalf of Invest Lithuania, who were also holding seminars in Aberdeen and Teesside. The seminars are directed to companies interested in finding out why Lithuania today is considered one of the best places in Europe to develop business.

Please contact Anatasia Zencika (Anastasia@ccbaltic.eu) or the International Trade Team (export@liverpoolchamber.org.uk) for more information.

Anatasia Zencika

The Beatles was discovered and managed by a Lithuanian Jew

Brian Epstein with The Beatles. 

Brian Epstein (1934-1967) was the man who discovered the Beatles, and guided them to mega-stardom, making them the most successful musical artists of all time. Without Brian, the Beatles as we came to know them, simply wouldn't have existed.  In 1965, both Paul McCartney and George Harrison, on being awarded their M.B.E.s by the Queen, said "M.B.E. stands for Mr. Brian Epstein." 

Brian Samuel Epstein was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. In 1961 Brian Epstein saw the new band for the first time at The Cavern Club in Liverpool. After the concert he went to speak to them and offered to manage them. On 10th. December 1961 it was decided that Brian Epstein should be the manager of The Beatles, and a contract was signed on 24th. January, 1962. He secured a record contract for them with EMI, and, on the request of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, he sacked the drummer Pete Best so that he could be replaced by Ringo Starr. Brian Epstein remained the manager on The Beatles until his death. Epstein paid for The Beatles to record a demo in Decca's studios, which Epstein later persuaded George Martin to listen to, as Decca were not interested in signing the band. Epstein was then offered a contract by Martin on behalf of EMI's small Parlophone label, even though they had previously been rejected by almost every other British record company. Martin later explained that Epstein's enthusiasm and his confidence that The Beatles would one day become internationally famous convinced him to sign them. Epstein died of an accidental drug overdose at his home in London in August 1967. The Beatles' early success has been attributed to Epstein's management and sense of style. McCartney said of Epstein: "If anyone was the Fifth Beatle, it was Brian". Epstein's family were Jewish, his grandfather, Isaac Epstein, was from Lithuania and arrived in England in the 1890s, at the age of eighteen. His grandmother, Dinah, was the daughter of Joseph (who was a draper) and Esther Hyman, who emigrated from Russia to England.

Regrettably, the man who did so much for the Beatles has become a comparatively forgotten man since his death.  

VIDEO: LET IT BE 

Paul McCartney said he had the idea of "Let It Be" after a dream he had about his mother during the tense period surrounding the sessions for The Beatles (the "White Album"). McCartney explained that his mother—who died of cancer when McCartney was fourteen—was the inspiration for the "Mother Mary" lyric. He later said, "It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing 'Let It Be'." He also said in a later interview about the dream that his mother had told him, "It will be all right, just let it be."

Oxford – the dignified university city

We have come to our trip's final destination, to Oxford, home of the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest university in the English-speaking world.

Oxford city is the county town of Oxfordshire, and forms a district within the county. It has a population of just under 165,000, of whom 153,900 live within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre.

Oxford has a diverse economic base. Its industries include motor manufacturing, publishing and a large number of information technology and science-based businesses.
Buildings in Oxford demonstrate an example of every English architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons, including the iconic, mid-18th century Radcliffe Camera. Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture of Oxford's university buildings.

Keble College, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford.

 
Oxford skyline.

My Oxford friend Mervyn Bedford, a teacher in love with Lithuania  

Mervyn Bedford at one of the many
Oxford landmarks of higher education.

Because I know Aage Myhre and his wife and very much respect what he is trying to do for Lithuania, I offered to write of educational values for VilNews. The Baltic nations have a perfect opportunity to change the map of educational provision in ways that better fit the rapidly changing world of the 21st. century. Education is not about buildings. It is not about systems and organisations. It is not about tests and inspections. It is about people and the relationships between those who want to learn, or need to learn, and those who already know it. For almost 150 years State school systems have imposed a model of teaching and learning that has hardly changed while society has fundamentally changed and, recently, very rapidly. Those changes are racing unseen towards our youngest children.

Read Mervyn’s article at https://vilnews.com/?p=979