Akmen wood carvers at the Advent market in the textile factory

Rimantas Balciauskis and Jolanta Balciauskiene are at the Advent market at LWL-Textilwerk Bocholt this week. They are selling their hand-carved woodwork in the weaving room. This is the 12th time that the couple from the Lithuanian twin town of Akmene have been represented at the market. Deputy Mayor Kerstin Erkens welcomed the two Lithuanian guests.

The Advent market at the LWL-Industriemuseum Textilwerk Bocholt is open until Sunday, 3 December, from 10 am to 6 pm. The museum courtyard is free to visit. There is an entrance fee of 4 euros for the stands in the museum.

Works of art made from local wood

The two Lithuanian woodcarvers will be selling hand-carved bowls, spoons and tins as well as many other items made from local wood at the market. At the official reception, the deputy mayor thanked the two guests for making the long journey of 1,800 kilometres from Akmene to Bocholt. "We are proud that you are showing the bond between our two cities in this way with your stand," said Kerstin Erkens.

German-Lithuanian town twinning since 2022

Last year, on 14 May 2022, Bocholt Mayor Thomas Kerkhoff and Akmen Mayor Vitalijus Mitrofanovas signed the twinning documents between the two municipalities at the European City Festival in Bocholt. The contacts go back to the beginning of the 1990s. At that time, the German Red Cross Bocholt organised aid transports to the Akmene district under the leadership of Stasys Cirpus. Further encounters and events were added and bear witness to the vitality of these partnership relations.

Art and tradition from Lithuania

On the 12th visit by the two woodcarvers, European Affairs Officer Petra Taubach said: "I am delighted that Jolanta and Rimantas are once again selling their hand-carved wooden items at the Advent market. This is a wonderful sign of how culture and art from Lithuania can be presented here in Bocholt." The wood carver Rimantas Balciauskis is a high-ranking member of the Lithuanian Association of Folk Artists. Both would like to come to Bocholt again next year. Until then, they will be busy carving new works of art from local wood.