New 1-lat Latvian coins honor Rīga and, just in time for Jāņi, beer

Egils Kaljo | 

To honor the 810th anniversary of the city’s founding, the Bank of Latvia has released a commemorative silver coin honoring the capital of Rīga. Also issued is a coin marking the Latvian midsummer celebration, Jāņi.

The proof quality Rīga coin was designed by Gunārs Krollis with plastic molding by Jānis Strupulis. It has a nominal value of 1 lat and features the city’s coat of arms on the obverse and a panorama of Rīga on the reverse.

The 15,000 coins were minted by Rahapaja Oy of Finland. The coin is meant for collectors and will not go into general circulation, according to the Bank of Latvia.

The Rīga coin completes the eight-piece Hanseatic League series. Each coin in the series commemorates one of the Hanseatic League cities in Latvia. Previously released were coins for Ventspils, Straupe, Limbaži, Koknese, Kuldīga, Valmiera and Cēsis. Rīga joined the Hanseatic League, a mercantile organization of many cities around the Baltic Sea, in 1282.

Additionally, just in time for Jāņi, the bank has released a 1-lat coin with an image of a beer stein. The coin was designed by Juris Dimiters (graphical design) and Andris Vārpa (plastic molding).

The beer stein lat was minted by Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt of the Netherlands. A total of 1 million coins will be put into circulation, according to the Bank of Latvia.

The coins are available for purchase at branches of the Bank of Latvia.

New Latvian coins

New 1-lat coins issued by the Bank of Latvia honor Rīga (left) and beer. (Photos courtesy of Bank of Latvia)

Egils Kaljo is an American-born Latvian from the New York area . Kaljo began listening to Latvian music as soon as he was able to put a record on a record player, and still has old Bellacord 78 rpm records lying around somewhere.

British coast guard calls off search for lost fisherman from Latvia

Latvians Online | 

The British coast guard has called off a search for a man of Latvian origin who was reported lost at sea June 14 near the southwest coast of the United Kingdom.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency received a distress call at 8:21 a.m. June 14 from the FV About Time, a fishing boat operating out of Milford Haven, according to an agency spokesman.

“There was three crew onboard and they had finished fishing and were heading back to Milford,” the spokesman said in a statement posted on the coast guard’s website. “One of the crewmen was determined to be missing one hour after being last seen by the other two crew.”

Rescue teams in lifeboats and a helicopter, plus 14 other vessels, assisted in the search. The search ended in the afternoon.

“An extensive search has been undertaken by many vessels in the hope of finding this missing fisherman,” said Watch Commander Nigel Yelland of the Milford Haven coast guard office. “Unfortunately, he was not wearing a lifejacket, which could have aided in his survivability in this incident.”

Tradicionalās kultūras bērnu nometne Latgalē

Latvians Online | 

Biedrība “Latgales tradicionālās kultūras centrs Latgaļu sāta”, kas atrodas netālu no Varakļāniem, Dekšāru pagasta “Madžuļos,” aicina bērnus vecumā līdz 15 gadiem piedalīties tradicionālās kultūras nometnē.

Centra publicists Dainis Mjartāns apgalvo, ka bērniem tā ir lieliska iespēja lauku sētā Latgalē apgūt etnogrāfiju, folkloru un senās prasmes.

Kā uzsver nometnes vadītāja Marika Zeimule: “Bērni pārsvarā nāk no pilsētas vides, līdz ar to viņiem etnogrāfiskā nometne liekas ļoti interesanta. Viss saistīts ar reālu dzīvi lauku vidē, uzsvaru liekot uz dažādu tradicionālo amatu apgūšanu.”

2010. gadā paši organizētāji bija pārsteigti par lielo bērnu un jauniešu interesi doties no Kurzemes un Rīgas uz tālo Dekšāru pagastu, lai apgūtu tradicionālo kultūru, ko skolas solā nemāca. Vairāki bērni mērojušu ceļu no ASV, jo viņu vecāki uzskata, ka kopā ar vienaudžiem pavadīts laiks stiprinās piederību senču dzimtenei, kā arī uzlabos latviešu valodu.

Nedēļas laikā dzīvojot lauku sētā bērni mācās koklēt, aust uz lielajām stellēm, iegūst iemaņas kokgriešanā, keramikā, vilnas sukāšanā, apgūst vērpšanu ar ratiņu, celaiņu aušanu, stikla apgleznošanu un batikošanu. Notiek latgaliešu valodas apguves kursi.

Aizvadītajā gadā piedalījās 40 bērni no Rīgas, Kurzemes, Latgales un ASV. Zēniem šogad piedāvā loku, bultu un citu piederumu izgatavošanu, kā arī pielikt savu roku neolīta un bronzas laika ēku celšanā. Brīvbrīdī – spēles, atpūta un peldēšanās. Nakšņošana teltīs.

Pirmā nometne notiek no 17. līdz 24. jūlijam. Otrā nometne, bērniem līdz 13 gadiem, no 31. jūlija līdz 7. augustam. Maksa par dalību ir LVL 80. Sīkāka informācija un pieteikšanās: bernunometne@inbox.lv.