Translations and Other Language Solutions in German Language

The Skrivanek team of interpreters and translators of German work with written standard document translation, technical translations, as well as notarised translations. The Skrivanek translation office also ensures editing and stylistic correction of German texts. For our business clients we usually do product descriptions, e-commerce content and website translations, advertisement slogans and marketing translations, cooperation agreements and business record translations to and from German. We also offer consecutive and simultaneous interpretation of formal and other types of conversation, including on Zoom and other online platforms, live conferences, and other events. Skrivanek translators from Latvian to German also work with state institutions on cooperation agreement and legal document translation. If requested, translation of medical texts and document translation is available for both legal and natural persons. For natural persons we offer identity document, marriage certificate, birth certificate, education document, passport, medical document, and other type of document translation.

As we are an international translation office and work with clients from all Baltic states, we can offer our current and potential clients translations from German into Lithuanian. Our team also has experienced translators and interpreters from German into Estonian.

GERMAN IN BUSINESS

The Germans of Latvia, part of the Baltic provincial Germans or Baltic Germans, are one of Latvia’s historic minorities. Today, Latvian Germans live in Riga and Liepaja. In 2017, Latvian Germans were the 8th largest minority, and according to the 2011 census, 3,042 Germans were living in Latvia.

The arrival of Germans in Latvia was mentioned in the first part of the Livonian Chronicle of Henry, written in the beginning of the 13th century. Bishop St. Meinard from Holstein arrived in lower Daugava around 1180 and settled with the Livs living there. During the Livonian Crusades, Terra Mariana was established in the lands conquered by the German Crusaders, and alongside Latin, German and its Lower German dialect became increasingly more important as the language of international communication. After the establishment of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, and Swedish Livonia, the German language dominated in record keeping. Even after the capitulation of Vidzeme in 1710, Baltic Germans and the German language dominated in Vidzeme. In 1766, Empress Catherine the Great of the Russian Empire ordered the establishment of a German peasant colony in the Irsi parish. The first settler arrived in 1765 from Lübeck, and over the next two years 86 settler families arrived from Palatinate, Darmstadt, and Pomerania. At the end of the 18th century, about 6.5% of Germans lived in Latvia; at the end of the 19th century, according to the 1897 census, 7.1% (about 138 thousand) of the residents were Germans. Under the influence of the Revolution of 1905, in 1908–1913 the German nobility of Courland began to settle German settlers from the outskirts of the Russian Empire (Poland and Southern Russia) on their own in the manors they had bought, financed by the Kurlandischer Kreditverein in Jelgava. The first Courland German peasant colony was established in the parishes of Kurmale and Planica. In total, around 13,000 German peasants settled in the Courland province by the beginning of the First World War. After the establishment of independence in the 1920s and 1930s, the number of Germans in Latvia decreased, but they retained their influence in the Latvian economy: in 1935, 15.7% of the 922 large industrial enterprises were owned by Germans, and they accounted for 36.7% of total production. After the beginning of the Second World War, between 7 November and 16 December 1939, some 47,000 Baltic Germans emigrated from Latvia, while around 4,000–7,000 remained. After the occupation of Latvia, on 10 January 1941, the German and USSR governments signed an agreement to allow further emigration of Latvian Germans. Today, Germany and Latvia are linked by geographical proximity and a long-shared history, especially since Latvia’s membership in the EU and NATO, which was also actively supported by the German government. The destinies of the two countries are closely linked, as they have become true partners. In practice, they had to reassert themselves again, as proved by the challenges posed by the financial and refugee crises as well as those related to security policy that can only be overcome with joint effort. This is not just about Germany’s participation in Baltic airspace control and manoeuvres, naval visits or military support that, for example, is deployed by NATO in the Baltic States and Poland from one of the four multinational battalions under Germany’s leadership.

Germany has made a significant contribution to the security and stability of the Baltic region. Germany regularly participates in Baltic air patrol operations. Latvia also closely cooperates with Germany in transport and logistics. Germany is one of the countries whose businesses are involved in the Rail Baltica infrastructure project. In December 2021, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Riga between the Ministries of Transport, Welfare and Education and Science, and DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, to agree on cooperation in the development of education in the railway and transport sector. The memorandum outlines a common understanding of the need to build a railway academy, helping Riga and Latvia to become a knowledge hub of the Baltic railway and logistics industry. Practical work to agree on the necessary steps to establish the academy will continue after the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation. Cooperation between Latvia and Germany in the field of higher education is particularly active on the basis of bilateral cooperation agreements between higher education institutions and within the Erasmus sub-programme of the Lifelong Learning Programme. For several years now, the German Bundestag has been offering young people up to the age of 32 the opportunity to participate in the International Parliamentary Scholarship programme. Latvia joined this programme in 1992.

Since 2010, the Latvian Saeima has also offered German students the opportunity to annually take part in internships. The German Embassy and the Goethe-Institut in Riga, in cooperation with the Latvian Association of German Language Teachers and the National Centre for Education, provide a great deal of support for the teaching of German in Latvian educational institutions. Throughout their shared centuries-long history, German traditions and culture have also had a significant impact on the formation and development of Latvian cultural and professional life. The Goethe-Institut has been operating in Latvia since 1993 and has become an active partner in the cultural and artistic environment for many Latvian culture institutions. The contribution of the Goethe-Institut in Riga and other German cultural institutions and representatives in introducing German literature, art, music, cinema, and other fields to the Latvian population is highly appreciated and supported. The German Embassy in Latvia is also located in Riga: https://riga.diplo.de/