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The first Dnyestr-M radar station was opened here in 1969 to calculate the trajectories of ballistic missiles. The trajectories of satellites were also calculated here. The range of the radar station was 5,000 km. In 1972, construction began on a second, more modern radar, the Dnyepr-M. In 1977, it was ready for use, and the first radar was modernised at the same time. The two radars were located in buildings that were 250 m long and 17 m high. During a 24/hour period, they could identify the height, speed and flight trajectory of up to 750 space objects. In 1985, work began on a third, even more modern radar – the Daryal-YM. This was a radar that could “peek” across the horizon. The antenna building was 117 m high (19 stories), 80 m long and 80 m wide. It had a planned range of 6,000 km, but it was not completed. After the withdrawal of the Russian army in 1995, the building was blown up. That cost LVL 6,172,311 and used up 360 kg of explosives. The territory of the radar stations took up 1,072 hectares, with barracks, a hotel, 551 apartments, a medical facility, a water tower, a war hospital, a bomb shelter, etc. The aim of the facility was to monitor space above Western Europe and North America, as well as to “intercept” any ballistic missiles that were fired at the USSR. The territory is closed to visitors, but it is an important part of Latvia’s military heritage. The abandoned territory can be viewed from the outside. The nearby bus stop is called “Kombināts.” This was the only facility of its kind in the Baltic States. !!! Since March 2018 the Skrunda army base is closed for visitors. |
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This café in Ciemupe in the Ogre District has an exhibit of military equipment, artillery and other objects.
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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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This former training route runs through the shoreline forests from the northern part of Ventspils (there was once a tank division in Ziemeļu Street there) all the way to Ovīši. Today it is a wide, sandy and overgrown track.
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The largest collection in Europe of Soviet aviation and military equipment is on the territory of the Rīga International Airport and is open to visitors. The collection was assembled over the course of 40 years.
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This was a coast guard facility with a zenith missile division, and it was meant to protect the outer border of the Soviet Union. At this time the Ventspils Naval Guard Battalion has an observation point at the location.
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Latvijas un Igaunijas Neatkarības karā nenovērtējami nozīmīgas bija tieši Cēsu kaujas 1919.gada jūnijā.Atpūtas vieta-kempings "Amatas upe" ir lieciniece tieši šo un vairāku citu kara notikumu norisei - par to liecina vēsturiskie avoti muzeju arhīvos, kā arī mūsdienās redzamās aprises dabā. Par to, kur un kā sākās varoņstāsts, kas noslēdzās ar abu kaimiņtautu: igauņu un latviešu brīvību, ir iespējams uzzināt arī dažādu veidu programmās - stāstījumā par Cēsu kauju noslēpumiem un dažādu veidu pārgājienos vai izbraucienos pa galvenajām Cēsu kauju vietām, vai arī Cēsu kauju aizraujošā "izspēlēšanā". Atpūtas daļā - apmeklētājiem ir iespēja nobaudīt spēcinošu "kara zupu". Ekskursijas pa Cēsu kauju vietām-dažāda ilguma, izstrādāsim tieši jums piemērotu variantu! |
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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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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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The hydroplane airfield is on the eastern shore of Lake Durbe, not far from Līguti. It was built between 1939 and 1941. During the Soviet era, the 43rd aviation escadrille was located here, and it had 13 MBR-2 hydroplanes. All that’s left today are the cement sheets on the shore of the lake. You can look at the site itself.
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The local museum offers an interesting and extensive exhibit related to World War II at the Kurzeme fortress and the fate of Latvian soldiers who took part in the war. There are also exhibits related to the history of World War I and World War II, complete with a collection of civilian and military objects. Among them – a YI-2 airplane, an armoured personnel carrier, a Red Army tank, and all of the trenches and bunkers of the relevant era.
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Ein am Ende des 19. Jh. gebautes Teil der Festung. Ein Museum, das Verbrechen totalitäre Regimes gegen Menschlichkeit wiederspiegelt. |
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During Soviet times, Vaiņode was the site of one of the Soviet Union’s largest military airfields in the Baltic States. During the period of Latvia’s independence, the country’s first dirigibles were based here. Eventually their hangars were dismantled and brought to Rīga, where they were used for the Rīga Central Market. They are still there today. Some of Latvia’s first gliders took off from Vaiņode. During the Soviet occupation, the airfield was home to an air defence and destroyer squadron, with 38 SU-27 “Flanker” destroyers on site. After the restoration of Latvia’s independence, the Vaiņode airfield was dismantled in part, and the big plates of concrete that covered the runways and the rest of the airfield were used to improve the Liepāja port. There are still 16 hangars at the airport, and 1,800 of the formerly 2,500 metres long runway are also still there. More information about the airfield can be found at the Vaiņode Regional Research Museum.
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Nordeķu - Kalnciema kāpu grēdas daļa Kleistu meža austrumdaļā pie Dzirciema ielas. Padomju laikā šeit darbojās divi (vēlāk viens) P - 35 radars, kas griezās ap savu asi. Vietējie iedzīvotāji tolaik šo vietu bija iesaukuši par "Lokatoru kalniņu". Ziemeļos no tā atradās padomju armijas cūku ferma. |
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A memorial to Finnish soldiers in
Klapkalnciems – five such soldiers from
World War I are buried here. The memorial
was first installed in 1929, but it was
destroyed by the Soviet authorities. It was
recreated in May 2004. The Lapmežciems
Museum features photographs and more
information about the Finnish soldiers.
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This facility was used in the past by communications officers, and it was also a training centre. The Ventspils Home Guard Battalion is housed here at this time. The facility is not open to civilians. Along the road there are metal structures which show where the entrance to the facility was once located.
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The zenith missile brigade and its communications headquarters were used for the provision, planning and co-ordination of radio communications. The object is all but abandoned, but it is owned by the Latvian Repatriation Centre and the Christian Mission.
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There are several large territories on either side of the Irbe River that were linked at one time by tank roads. Tank training and inspections were conducted here at one time, but now the territory has been abandoned and is slowly being reclaimed by the forest.
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The lighthouse at Akmeņrags supported maritime navigation in Soviet times. Today it is controlled by the Latvian Maritime Administration. The lighthouse is open for visitors.
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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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