Concise news summaries, often with the benefit of at least 24 hours of hindsight
Mention Bornholm to any Dane, and they will immediately think of summer. That is a problem for an island that is looking to promote itself as a place to visit year-round. So far, efforts to promote winter tourism—including a pledge by shopkeepers to stay open throughout the off-season—have sputtered. Zero in on December, though, and Christmas, at least, is beginning to look a lot like a success story. The success of Bornholm’s Christmas markets, though relatively new, can already be read in the statistics: since 2021, when Destination Bornholm, the municipally funded tourism bureau, began marketing them to people on the mainland, the number of overnight says for November and December have doubled.
Bornholm’s markets have neither the size nor the history of those held elsewhere, but, say attendees, that is precisely their draw. The focus, instead, is on quality; locally produced handicrafts are the main fare. Group Bornholm, a tourism agency, this year organised its first tour for Germans to visit the island’s Christmas markets. Most of the thirty people along on the sold-out trip had rave reviews for the smaller scale and intimacy of the island’s markets, and many said they would be interested in seeing the island at another time of year. This will not be the last Christmas for Bornholm’s markets.
(📸 Toxophilus)
Denmark’s culture ministry has named the town of Svaneke (pop 1,000) on the island of Bornholm, as one the country’s best-preserved examples of its built heritage. In all, 16 places ranging from entire villages to the centre of Copenhagen, all of them dating from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, were selected as examples of how historic areas can retain their distinct characteristics, while also functioning as modern inhabited areas. The designations are meant to be an inspiration for other places in Denmark from the same time period. For the 16 sites that made the list, the local councils that are responsible for them will be required to place preservation on par with development when making decisions about them.
Some towns might see that as a threat, but, for Svaneke, it is a relief and a recognition of the work local groups have put into keeping the town looking much the same as it did in the 19th century—to the extent that the owners of homes whose chimneys had been removed by past owners were at one point told to add one, even if it served no function. Their fervour and attention to detail has already been twice honoured: first in 1975, by the Council of Europe, and again in 2014 by Danes in a popular vote to find the country’s prettiest market town.
When the European award was given, Palle Lauring, a popular historian, said of the town’s efforts, “the people of Svaneke were satisfied that their town was as it was.” Apparently, visitors have been too. Svaneke is the most visited town on Bornholm, and Bornholm is Denmark’s biggest tourism destination. That can make Svaneke a crowded place during the high season, but, those who come say it is a nice place to visit because people want to live there.
(📸 A Savin)
Seven countries in the Nordic-Baltic region have agreed to pool their resources to stave off cyberattacks. Funded by the EU, hosted by Denmark, and with the participation of Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway, the Nordic-Baltic Cyber Consortium will serve as a means for national cyber-security agencies in the seven countries to share information and to work together to develop new ways to counter cyberthreats.
The threat of cyberattack is not unique to the Baltic region, but the countries taking part in the consortium are among the most digitalised in the world, and thus particularly at risk. One strategy to protect themselves would be to take their foot off the pedal and move some services offline again, but that would mean losing many of the efficiency gains digitialisation has created, especially in the public sector. Doing so would also spoil plans to roll out artificial intelligence. By doubling down on digitalisation, they have decided that what makes them vulnerable is also what can make them stronger.
Employees of LRT, the Lithuanian public broadcaster, began a three-day protest today as members of the Seimas opened discussion of a law that would make it easier to dismiss its director-general. Some 1,500 journalists and cultural figures gathered to raise alarm that the measure—which comes on the heels of a decision to reverse a planned 11% budget increase over the next three years—is an attack on LRT’s independence and an encroachment on free speech.
Earlier in the month, 10,000 people gathered for a similar protest, and many Lithuanians say hamstringing LRT puts Lithuania on a path already laid out in Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. That is indeed bad company, but the reality is that public broadcasters throughout Europe have come under increased political scrutiny. Cases such as the BBC’s misleading editing of a Donald Trump speech adds fuel to the critics’ fire, but the big scandals are rare, and, indeed, their reporting is deemed as being critical, fair and necessary by both the public and experts alike. No wonder why the lawmakers are irritated.
A frequent topic of discussion on Bornholm is the island’s declining population. Despite efforts to attract new residents, more islanders die or move off the island each year than can be replaced by birth or in-migration. One bright spot has been the number of foreigners coming to the island to work. One in eight jobs is held by a non-Dane; in 2008, it was one in 30. That is the largest per-capita increase in Denmark in the period, and it was enough to help the island keep its workforce stable.
The typical foreigner still works in hospitality or agriculture—where they have all but become indispensable for firms—but the shrinking workforce means there are a growing number of opportunities for them in a broader range of fields. There may be soon be new jobs where their labour will be needed: Energy Island Bornholm, a power-converter for offshore wind energy, is expected to create some 1,500 temporary construction jobs, and then perhaps 1,000 permanent jobs running, maintaining and serving the facility. As yet, the energy island is only a proposal, but the workforce it will need is already charging up.