AHK Members: Who’ s new in AHK’s Baltic network?

S E R V I C E

Pullman Riga Old Town

Location: Riga, Latvia Employees: 1

Valdis Vanadziņš Tel.: +371 67815455 E-mail: H9619@accor.com

The Pullman Riga Old Town hotel is located in the heart of the historic centre of Riga, in a magnificent building from 1789 combined with a completely modern building. It is situated in the old town next to the Dome Square, the Saeima (Parliament), the National Theatre, the Freedom Monument and the National Opera. It boasts a sophisticated restaurant and bar, Tea Deli, a luxurious spa with a 19-metre swimming pool, fullyequipped conference rooms with 8 halls and parking for hotel guests (€15/24h).

SERVICE

JSC BUSITA

Location: Gargždai, Lithuania Employees: 6

Aivaras Malakauskas Tel.: +37061200300 E-mail: info@busita.lt

The company provides buses for tours in the Baltic countries, Europe and a competitive bus rental price. JSC “Busita” offers a full travel package for companies and individual tourists: accommodation, transportation or transfers from/to airports, catering, tour guides and a sightseeing/entertaining travel program. The company organises individual programs according to tourist needs (for English and German-speaking tourists).

Winter 2020 S E R V I C E

Čarlstons

Location: Riga, Latvia Employees: 30

Viktorija Tenča Tel.: +371 67770572 E-mail: info@restaurant-riga.com

The Charleston Restaurant is a classic in Riga! This slogan come from our visitors, since the location has not changed since 1999 and, as a result, the restaurant has become a symbol close to the Laima clock; a place for quiet meetings, returns, and memories. The Charleston positions itself as a BBQ restaurant with international cuisine. There is something special about this place. Welcome to the Charleston Restaurant for American accents, urban and rural twists, and a taste of the most typical dishes!

S E R V I C E

UAB CONEX EUROPE: Location: Kaunas, Lithuania Employees: 44

Karolis Lenkaitis Tel.: +37060465089 E-mail: : info@conex-europe.lt

We are a young company, founded in 2018, doing construction work in Germany, assembling metal structures and electrical works. We conduct interior installation work in accordance with the customer’s design plan. The team is constantly growing and we have gained the trust of clients such as Max Bögl, EDEKA, ALDI, NETTO and have also carried out work for public institutions, schools, hospitals and the customs office. The company’s main goal is to guarantee the quality of construction work, strengthen relations with customers, improve the working conditions of the company employees and ensure the successful development of the company. We strive to ensure the highest quality of work and guarantee this for our clients. UAB “Conex Europe” was awarded “The Strongest in Lithuania 2018” certificate.

S E R V I C E

Goethe-Institut Location: Vilnius, Lithuania Employees: 8

Michael Müller-Verweyen Tel.: +37052314430 E-mail: michael.mueller-verweyen@goethe.de

The Goethe-Institut is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global reach. Its task is to promote the German language and foster international cultural cooperation. We teach German in Lithuania and organise language courses with local Lithuanian partners. The upcoming cultural programs will show collaborations with the University of the Arts, Bremen, the Bremen Dance Theatre and others. In 2020, one focus will be the German presidency of the Council of the European Union. We will support the presentation of Lithuania in different German regions. For our activities, we are open for local Baltic partners and offer excellent opportunities to present Lithuanian and German companies in high-quality programs and events.

IMPRINT

Magazine “Baltic Business Quarterly” Founder: German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (AHK), Breite Straße 29, D-10178 Berlin, Germany Executive Board Member: Florian Schröder Editorial office: Strēlnieku iela 1-4, LV1010, Riga, Latvia, +371-67320718, www.ahk-balt.org

Publisher: SIA ”Žurnālu izdevniecība Lilita”, 21 Merķeļa str., Riga, Latvia, LV1050. 67061600, lilita@lilita.lv, www.lilita.lv

Reprint allowed only with a written agreement with the Founder. ©2018.AHK

Printed in printing house “Lietuvos Rytas Print”, Lithuania

Print run: 3000 issues Cover photo: Matīss Markovskis

Editor in chief: Līva Melbārzde, +371 6 732 0724

Reporters: Marge Aedna, Philipp Heumann, Māris Ķirsons, Jenny Nieland, Manfred Sieg, Alexander Welscher, Theis Klauberg, Sigita Sriubaitė-Stepurienė, Kristiina Rebane

Photographers: Matīss Markovskis, Kaspars Garda, Ritvars Skuja, Ardo Kaljuvee, Mindaugas Mikulėnas, Marko Mumm, Arina Solntzeff

Art Director: Vitalijs Suseklis Advertising Director: Līva Melbārzde Tech Director: Gints Mucenieks Advertising Editor: Jānis Rožkalns, reklama@lilita.lv

Digital editions: App Store and Google Play

ISSN 2592-2570

Publisher is a member of Association of Press Publishers of Latvia. lpia.lv

OUR PREMIUM MEMBERS

by ALEXANDER WELSCHER

Knitted heritage by ALEXANDER WELSCHER

Mittens for some might seem like simple gloves without f ingers, but for Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians they are much more. Being part of the cultural and historical legacy of their countries, the knitted woollen hand warmers are a vivid expression of aesthetic taste, creativity and craftsmanship.

Atimeless classic and cornerstone of folk culture: colourful mittens have kept the hands of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians warm for many centuries. With their rich pattern design, different ornamental symbols and endless colour combinations, mittens have been the bearers of tradition, taste and handicraft skills handed down from generation to generation. Even though much has changed since ancient times, the traditional woollen fingerless gloves with their distinctive shapes are far from being considered antiquated, and are still a common household item.

Mittens belong to the cultural heritage of especially Estonia and Latvia but to lesser degree also of Lithuania. Each country and each region has its own mitten-knitting traditions with characteristic colours and patterns, which are based on the traditional folk costumes of the area, while the peculiarities in fashion are very much region-bound. In Latvia, each of the four main regions has its own colour tastes: in Kurzeme – white, grey, red and violet; in Latgale – red, yellow, green and white; in Vidzeme – white, grey, and light brown or green; and in Zemgale – variations of green and brown tones. Similar regional differences also exist in Estonia and Lithuania.

The knitting of patterned mittens was historically determined by the climatic conditions and reflects the rural peasant history. When doing daily work outside, people needed many pairs of mittens that were worn every day at farms and on the field. “Mittens, which no other nation uses to the extent that Latvians do, play a very significant role vis-à-vis other clothing apparel. Hand attire seems just as necessary as foot or leg attire.

This is why Latvians are almost always seen wearing mittens”, the German travel writer Johann Georg Kohl noted back in the mid-19th century.

Not only warm and practical, but also symbolic

Besides fulfilling practical functions, mittens have had many different uses since ancient times, and were far more than ordinary items of clothing. Throughout the centuries, they have remained a necessity of life and a tradition. Their passed-on ornamental patterns are usually made of geometric elements. Human, plant and animal designs are rather rare on traditional mittens and are found mostly on Muhu Island in Western Estonia. Patterns are divided into two parts: the main or full motif, which is centred at the back of the hand, and the side motif, which is placed between the two main motifs. Added to this are the cuff and a thumb with no gusset shaping.

Most of the patterns are derived from mythology and are taken from various traditional folk designs. They have been kept alive, enriched and passed on by grandmothers and mothers for centuries. In this way, the ancient knowledge of their ancestors have become encoded into the mittens that have developed in a cultural and historic art form with more than just aesthetic value. “Latvian mittens are so deeply rooted in customs, traditions and mythology that they have become an attestation of our identity”, Latvian poet Imants Ziedonis (1933-2013) once wrote. Similarly, also in Estonia and Lithuania, mittens are a reminder of cultural and historical origins.

Still, all patterns incorporate ethnographic signs rooted in IndoEuropean history and carry elements that resemble those of other cultures. “In the modern globalization era, one of the shared ‘codes’ by which we can understand each other is the symbolic language of mittens”, emphasizes folklorist Janīna Kursīte in the book Mittens in Latvia. “Latvia’s mitten colours might differ from those used on the Island of Saremaa or in Iceland. But in the pattern of the mittens themselves there is much more of what we have in common than in what separates.”

Patterns and used materials evolved together with the development of knitting and weaving techniques. In the past, mittens used to be knitted from home-grown sheep’s wool, and only natural local plants, bark and moss were taken for colouring the yarn. Synthetic dyes only came into use in the 19th century. Modern life has also brought about changes to knitting traditions and a wider use of the ornamental design. Knitting patterns transformed into belt patterns, while later their elements were also used on handloom fabrics, rugs, crochet, embroidery and other textile structures. Nowadays, you also find ethnographic patterns as design elements on woodwork, cup bolsters, cell phone wallets, pencils, paper goods and many other products.

Ritual objects for important occasions

Knitting as an ancient technique of creating and decorating clothing arrived in the Baltics later than in many other European countries. It followed a long path from the Middle East via Mediterranean trade routes to Europe, where it later moved north, around the top of the Baltic Sea. In Estonia, the oldest findings date from the end of the thirteenth century or beginning of the fourteenth century – the cuff of a knitted wool mitten found in 1950 in a woman’s burial site in Jõuga. In these ancient times, mittens served as protection to ward off evil spirits and powers. However, knitting only became really widespread and an important part of the local textile craft by the eighteenth century. In his multi-volume series of encyclopaedic surveys from this period, the outstanding Baltic-German publicist August Wilhelm Hupel describes knitting among the necessary skills for any Estonian housewife and notes that young girls had to be able to knit by the age of ten. Not least because they needed their own dowry before reaching the age of a bride – a collection of textile goods for her future household. Among them, of course, were countless pairs of mittens as gifts for new in-laws and anyone involved in organising the wedding. Later in life, women prepared for their passing by knitting funeral mittens.

Besides weddings and funerals, mittens have been used as ritual objects at other festive or ceremonial events, and the act of making mittens for special occasions still continues today. In Latvia, the official delegates of the NATO summit in Riga in November 2006 were welcomed with 4,500 unique pairs of hand-knitted mittens. And in 2018, everyone was invited to participate in the “Latvia in Mittens campaign” – to celebrate Latvia’s centenary on 18 November in style and with warm hands. Many followed the call back then – and they will also wear mittens this winter to withstand the freezing weather and show off their cultural heritage. Not only in Latvia, but also in Estonia and Lithuania.