Historical and cultural experience: intellectual wealth of the Baltic countries

ENThe dates of several recent anniversaries inspired organizers of the 25th International Baltic Conference on the History of Science (Historiae scientiarum Baltica 2012) to relate them to the plenary program, and, thus, to the content of this presentation. First and foremost, a fact relevant for the Baltic countries— the 150-year anniversary of Riga Technical University— should be mentioned. Another relevant fact is connected with the University of Kaunas, which 90 years ago not only marked the establishment of a modern university, but also became a creative center of a twentieth-century national system of higher education. A third important event of 2012 was the 200th anniversary of the "rst public museum in Lithuania (an open-air museum accessible to the general public). !is is not just an incidental fact: exclusive and closed museums emerge together with the maturing of academic activities which present the demand for teaching and education (p. 130).