Amsterdam bans creation of new hotels
Another piece in the overall strategy to reduce tourist flows to the city
We owe the unusual cultural icon to this country in Europe
Eggs and bunnies. Normally, these two only come together in a sentence when we might be referring to a farmer’s production and the offspring of some of his livestock. But come Easter, the two suddenly become inseparable, even if a rather unusual combination. What’s the origin of this pairing and where did it begin?
Apparently, we need to look to good old Germany for the answer. Called Osterhase, or Easter Hare, the first reference to the long-eared animal playing a part in the Eastertide rituals can be found in De ovos paschalibus (About the Easter eggs).
This was a dissertation written in 1682 by Georg Franck von Franckenau (also known as Johannes Richier), a medical doctor from Frankfurt. In it, the physician described a custom where children in the Rhineland-Palatinate and Alsace would gather eggs “laid” by a rabbit in the bushes. At least, the author said that is the “fable that is told to the naive and children”.
The dissertation doesn’t explain how exactly the idea of combining hares and eggs might have sprung up in that part of Germany, though another academic book - Rabbits in Children’s Books (1976), by Lilla Farmer – states that an impoverished German woman had the idea of hiding the painted eggs in a bush to provide some entertainment for her kids. It just so happened that when the children found the eggs a rabbit jumped out of the same bush leading to the belief that it was the animal that had laid the colourful eggs.
What’s sure is that the pairing originated among the Lutheran community in Germany, and they also brought it to the United States with immigration where it really took off in popularity. So much so that already in 1878, the Easter Bunny played a central role in the White House’s annual Easter Egg Roll.
Legislators and magnates have to await a preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice
The building will then serve as the site for a new museum dedicated to Finnish-Russian relations
Another piece in the overall strategy to reduce tourist flows to the city
In addition, the federal government has launched the National Week of Action against Bicycle Theft to raise awareness of the issue and the new solution
The facility will replace the need to have water supplied by tankers from Valencia
Modern traffic lights do more than regulate the flow of vehicles at crossroads, they also collect enormous amounts of data
Experimenting with public transport provision in Germany is clearly in a state of creative fervour
Legislators and magnates have to await a preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice
It also set the standards for a better European parking card for people with disabilities
The benefit will last until the Dutch parliament adopts the transgender law
Experimenting with public transport provision in Germany is clearly in a state of creative fervour
It also set the standards for a better European parking card for people with disabilities
Urban dwellers across the EU are having a say in making their surroundings friendlier to people and the environment.
Forests in the EU can help green the European construction industry and bolster a continent-wide push for architectural improvements.
Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces
Catch up with some recommendations for the 2024 European Capital of Culture programme from the mayor of Tartu
An interview with the ICLEI regional director for Europe аfter the close of COP28
An interview with a member of the No Hate Speech Network team