Viktors Dāboliņš and Martin Klöker at the annual conference of the Baltic History Commission
From 30–31 May 2026, the 78th annual conference of the Baltic History Commission (BHK, Baltische Historische Kommission), entitled Das Baltikum als Raum für Netzwerke: Die Bildenden Künste im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, will be held at the Nordost-Institut in Lüneburg.
With over 130 members, the BHK is the most important association dedicated to the research and dissemination of Baltic history from a German perspective. Historians and art historians from four countries will discuss recent discoveries, problems, and challenges related to the history of art and artistic networks in the Baltic region. In addition, three historians will be invited to present their latest research on Baltic history.
In his paper, Re-examining the Life and Work of Zacharias Stopius (ca. 1540–1593/94), Viktors Dāboliņš, Senior Researcher in the research project „Connections, transition, change: nobilitas haereditaria ac litteraria in the emergence of early modern literature in Polish and Swedish Livonia“, will introduce the audience to the life and career of the Livonian humanist and physician Zacharias Stopius (ca. 1540–1593/94). He will argue for a more critical and multifaceted interpretation of Stopius’s legacy, based on a closer reading of archival sources and relevant scholarship. The paper reflects findings that will be published in Handbuch Adel und Literatur in den frühneuzeitlichen baltischen Landen. Band 1: Adelige Autoren im Porträt (Berlin–Münster, 2026), a collection of exemplary biographies of literary noblemen from early modern Livonia.
Prior to the conference, the Baltic History Commission’s Board Meeting and Annual General Meeting will take place in Lüneburg. As a member of the extended board, Martin Klöker will participate in the board meeting and the subsequent general meeting.