Building Bridges Between Bonn and the Baltic States

 

For more than seven decades, Haus Annaberg has been a place where people from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Germany meet, exchange ideas and build lasting connections. Baltic Bridge Bonn carries this tradition into a new generation.

Our aim is to support young people from the Baltic States who come to Germany to study, participate in an Erasmus programme or begin a new chapter of their lives in Bonn.

Our support goes beyond providing affordable accommodation. We help newcomers find their way during their first weeks in Germany, assist with everyday questions, connect them with other students and local networks, and create opportunities for meaningful encounters. Language and cultural activities, shared events and environmental projects bring together people, countries and generations.

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A Growing Baltic Network

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Baltic Bridge Bonn connects Haus Annaberg directly with universities and institutions across the Baltic region.

Our network now includes Erasmus coordinators at universities in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. We have also established contact with the DAAD network responsible for the Baltic States.

These connections create a direct bridge between young people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Haus Annaberg in Bonn – helping students discover opportunities in Germany before they even arrive.

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A Bridge with a History

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Baltic Bridge Bonn is a new project, but the idea behind it has been part of Haus Annaberg for more than seventy years.

The Baltic Christian Students’ Association was founded in 1947 by Baltic Germans who had been forced to build new lives in Germany following war, displacement and expulsion. When Haus Annaberg became the home of the association in 1952, it developed into much more than a physical place. It became a meeting point for people connected to Germany and the Baltic States – a place where memories could be preserved, friendships formed and new beginnings made possible.

As contacts across Europe gradually became possible again, Haus Annaberg rebuilt its connections with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Direct relationships were re-established in the late 1960s and grew considerably stronger during the political changes surrounding the end of the Soviet Union.

 

From 1989 onwards, around 350 people from the Baltic States came to Haus Annaberg to participate in language courses. For many, learning German was also a first step towards discovering Germany, meeting people and creating new personal and professional connections. The circumstances have changed, but the underlying idea remains remarkably relevant.

People arriving in another country need more than simply a place to stay. They need orientation, contacts and a place where they feel welcome.

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Carrying the Story Forward

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This is where Baltic Bridge Bonn continues the story.

Where earlier generations came to Haus Annaberg for language courses and international encounters, today a new generation of young people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania comes to Germany through university exchanges, Erasmus programmes and international study.

Haus Annaberg can offer them affordable accommodation – but also something beyond housing: practical support during their first weeks in Bonn, opportunities to meet others, language and cultural activities, and a community connecting Germany and the Baltic States.

Through our growing network of universities and institutions in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius, we are giving a historic connection a new and practical purpose.

Baltic Bridge Bonn is therefore not a departure from the history of Haus Annaberg. It is its logical continuation: a historic place of arrival and encounter becoming a place of arrival and encounter for a new Baltic generation.

Studying abroad is an adventure. We want to make sure that no one has to face it alone.