Lens on the Baltic
Prora holiday resort, Isle of Rugen, Germany:
Tourism is an important livelihood for all countries bordering the Baltic Sea. Built during the late 1930s as part of the Third Reich’s ‘Kraft durch Freude’ [Strength through joy] initiative, Prora’s long, sandy Baltic Sea beach was considered the ideal destination for a huge social holiday camp project. Stretching for 4.5 kilometres along the sea front, the concrete building blocks contain identical-sized and furnished rooms, along with communal toilets and showers. Plans to renovate it to its original purpose after decades of neglect have met opposition.
Photo: Holger Niemann/Gerard Schuurman (2008) | Text: Emma Brewin
Lens on the Baltic
Oresund bridge, Denmark/Sweden:
To celebrate the completion of this, the longest combined road/rail bridge in Europe, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden met midway on it in 1999. A brackish inland body of water due to the considerable freshwater influx it receives from some of Northern Europe's largest rivers, the Baltic Sea has an interesting counter-clockwise salinity circulation pattern, northwards along its eastern boundary, and south along its western one, discharging out through the Danish Straits.
Photo: Alexander Kolev (2008) | Text: Emma Brewin
Lens on the Baltic
Sauna by the sea, Arholma, Swedish archipelago:
Thanks to their shared sea, the Baltic littoral countries – or at least coastal regions thereof – share many common cultural similarities. Seaside saunas have long been both a favourite pastime and a measure taken for good health in the region and remain an important aspect of family life.
Photo: Mickael Junttila (2008) | Text: Emma Brewin
Lens on the Baltic
Ducks in Hietalahti harbour, Helsinki, Finland:
Surrounded by land, the Baltic Sea is particularly vulnerable to pollution from industrial and municipal sources. The Northern Dimension for Environmental Partnership (NDEP), a Euro-Russian cooperative effort to solve environmental problems in north-west Russia, has recently steered a €166 million project to complete construction of a sewage treatment plant in St Petersburg, left half-finished the country’s political transition.
Photo: Jarmo Poyhonen (2008) | Text: Emma Brewin
Lens on the Baltic
Fishermen on the frozen Baltic Sea, Saint Petersburg, Russia:
Russia’s Baltic Sea coast is thought to be the site of numerous nuclear hazardous facilities, associated with its submarine fleet, including military research reactors and waste storage. In addition, a EUR 6 billion nuclear power plant is being planned for the Kaliningrad region which is otherwise dependent on energy imports, although a coastal location has been decided against because of safety concerns.
Photo: Herve Albaret-Boit (2008) | Text: Emma Brewin
Lens on the Baltic
Baltic Sea fishermen:
Overfishing in the Baltic Sea has endangered stocks and necessitated quotas to be placed on most commercial species. Levels of some cod species have fallen below what scientists regard as the safe biological limit, resulting in a 33-percent quota decrease last year. Central Baltic herring stock is doing well however, which is just as well as it features highly in the cuisine of all the region’s littoral countries.
Photo: Sergey Melkon (2008) | Text: Emma Brewin
Lens on the Baltic
Islands in the Gulf of Bothnia, Sweden:
Situated between Finland and Sweden, the water in the north of the Gulf of Bothnia is so fresh (due to a north/south salinity gradient caused by river inflow) that it no longer tastes salty despite still being part of the Baltic Sea. As a result, the ecological differences are marked. The Gulf is also frozen over in the north for five months of the year due to the low salinity.
Photo: Gennady Borisanov (2008) | Text: Emma Brewin
'It's all about cooperation': Frank van Lamoen
