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A coast guard facility was located near the village of Užava during Soviet times. There is a lack of information about the use of the facility at this time.
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The radio telescope at Irbene was at one time used for anti-espionage purposes. There were various military units and objects in Irbene, including a military housing estate that has now been abandoned. The radio telescope is now run by the Radio Astronomy Centre of the Latvian Academy of Sciences for scientific purposes. Guided tours of the object are available.
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The former missile transport facility at Karaosta is not used any more. The territory is mostly closed off to visitors.
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This exhibition has been assembled over the course of many years by its owner, Valdis Tumovs. He features war weapons, fragments of munitions, uniforms, everyday objects, military equipment such as a motorcycle, etc.
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By far one of the most impressive Soviet military objects in Northern Vidzeme, this base has now been abandoned. There are buildings, underground bunkers, missile silos, areas of the firing of missiles, etc. This is one of the few remaining places in Latvia where a monument to Lenin still stands. The stone bust once stood in the central square of Alūksne. During the restoration of independence, it was taken down and moved to the missile base. We recommend that you bring a guide with you – otherwise it won’t be worth much.
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The air defence radar facilities at the Liepāja airport in Cimdenieki are gone now, although the man-made terrain in the area remains interesting today.
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This was Coastal Defence Battery No. 500 at one time, and it was dismantled in 1955. There were four 130 mm cannons, and their foundations can still be spotted in the forest northeast from the lighthouse. They are mostly covered by moss and can be very hard to find. Those who are not familiar with the region will probably have the most trouble of all.
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This is a closed and guarded territory on the banks of Lake Būšnieks in Staldzene. The former project building is on the shore of the sea.
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The Rumbula airfield was originally a military facility, established after World War II at a place where many single family farms had been before. When the Spilve airfield shut down, civilian aircraft moved to Rumbula, while military aircraft were based at the Rīga airport. Today the world “Rumbula” is most often associated with the automobile and spare parts market that has been established on part of the former airport’s territory. A certain “heritage” at the site is pollution from the former airfield’s fuel containers, where petroleum was stored. Paragliding occurs at the airfield.
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This building was erected in 1903 and 1904 to be used for military training, exercises and ceremonial events. An addition to the South of the building held a small church, but it is gone. The building was used for gymnastics performances and competitions for horseback riders. Official meals for the garrison’s sailors were held there, too – the hall could hold up to 3,000 people. Only the outer walls survive today, sad to say. You can view the exterior and interior of the hall at any time. This is the only building of its size and type in Latvia. The roof once had bands of glass tiles.
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The job for the No. 15 Radio Technology Brigade at Saraiķi was to defend Soviet Latvia’s shoreline back in Soviet times. Today the facility is owned by the Defence Ministry, and the No. 17 Home Guard Battalion uses it for training purposes.
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Few Soviet military objects are associated with more legends than this one. During Soviet times, this was a reserve airfield, as well as a storage site (just 50 kilometres from the republic’s capital city) for nuclear weapons. These were hidden in two cement hangars that were covered with soil and vegetation. Public information suggests that an RX-24 nuclear bomb weighing 430 kg and a RX-26 nuclear bomb weighing 1,030 kg were stored here, as were air-to-land missiles equipped with nuclear explosives. If there had been an accident here, what would have happened to Rīga, to Latvia, to the Baltic States and to Northern Europe? The airfield is a closed territory today.
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The former communications facilities at Pļavmalas are used as a farm warehouse at this time. They belong to a local farm.
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Liepene, in the Ventspils District, was once home to a coast guard division. The facilities are now privately owned and offer accommodations to tourists.
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The boiler house of Karaosta has been used for decades to ensure heat for the city of Liepāja. Although it is part of the heating network, the facility is not guarded and has largely been abandoned.
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The Staldzene Zenith Missile Brigade used a large territory and a number of major buildings. Some of these are now privately owned, and a fish smoking facility has been installed at one of them.
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Another example of a costal defence battery along the Kurzeme shoreline is found here.
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This is the rumoured location of a military aviation engine testing laboratory. The territory is now industrial and locked off, and nothing remains to suggest that such a lab was ever really there.
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This extremely secret bunker was one of the most important facilities in Soviet Latvia in the event of a nuclear attack. Under the code name of “Rest Home,” the bunker is nine metres under the ground at the Līgatne Rehabilitation Centre, and it would have been the place where Soviet Latvian government officials would have gone in the event of an attack. The status of a secret object was lifted only in 2003. The underground installation has been preserved fully.
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The No. 94 Driving School of the Soviet Navy back in Soviet times now houses the Liepāja No. 3 Elementary School.
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