Background to the conference
This year marked the 170th anniversary of the birth of Hans Einer (1856-1927), a prominent figure in education and culture in Valga. In addition, Valga County Vocational Training Centre celebrated its 120th anniversary. Next year will mark the 160th anniversary of the birth of Marta Pärna (1867-1939), the legendary headmistress of Valga Girls’ Gymnasium. It was therefore fitting to connect the Estonian-Latvian history conference with the history of our diverse educational heritage.
Until 1920, Valga was a single town known as Walk. Similar, though certainly somewhat different, developments in education also took place within the local Latvian community. We therefore invited speakers from Latvian universities, museums and libraries to discuss key events in the history of Latvian education at the conference.
The academic conference featured speakers from universities and museums in both Estonia and Latvia. The event was opened by museum director Neeme Punder, and participants were welcomed by Mart Kase, Mayor of Valga Municipality, as well as Vents Armands Krauklis, Chairman of the Valka Parish Council. The first speakers were Valga Museum researchers Priit Riemann and Karin Varblane, who gave a presentation entitled „The Story of Education in Valga“. Ligita Drubina from the Valka Local History Museum discussed the history of schooling in Valka. Vija Daukšte from the National Library of Latvia spoke about the vision of Vidzeme manor owners and Lutheran clergy for organising peasant education after the abolition of serfdom in 1819. The second half of the conference opened with Aivar Põldvee from Tallinn University, who gave a presentation on schools in Livonia during the Swedish period. Hanno Talving from the Estonian Open Air Museum gave an overview of schoolhouse architecture in Estonia in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, using examples from the Province of Livonia and the counties of southern Estonia. The final presentation was given by Rūdolfs Rubenis from the University of Latvia, who provided an overview of student corporations and their role in shaping relations between the University of Tartu and Riga Polytechnic Institute. The conference was moderated by Anzori Barkalaja, with simultaneous interpretation by Valts Ernštreits.
Conference materials are avalable in the Estonian version of the museum website.
