On April 14, the President of Estonia opened the Estonian collection in the Amsterdam Public Library (Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam or OBA). This collection is the result of a collaboration between the Embassy of Estonia in the Netherlands, the National Library of Estonia, and the Estonian House in the Netherlands. The collection was symbolically declared open when the president turned on the chandelier – kroonlühter – a word that has the same meaning and sound in Estonian and Dutch. The president also donated some fascinating books for the collection.
In order for Estonian literature to remain available in Amsterdam and for OBA to introduce Estonian culture more widely in the coming years, Ambassador Lauri Kuusing and OBA director Martin Berendse signed a memorandum of understanding. The Estonian community in the Netherlands has also contributed to the exhibition of Estonian literature at the OBA. Namely, the mighty bookshelf was acquired thanks to the donations by our community members.
With the Estonian collection at the OBA, we would like to tell the story of Estonia. It is a country on the eastern border of the EU and NATO where unspoiled nature and ancient traditions merge with great achievements in digitalization and innovation. In a broad sense – how Estonia has become the way it is today, what have been the different developments in history. There are books in Estonian, Dutch and English.
Welcome to the library!
Photos: Raigo Pajula, Office of the President of the Republic
