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The current Ventspils airport began its life as a military object. Today regular passenger flights to and from Rīga have been suspended, and the airport is only used for small planes.
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The No. 14 Border Guard facility at Akmeņrags was a naval observatory. The facility belongs to the regional local government and is not used for any purpose at this time.
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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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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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This café in Ciemupe in the Ogre District has an exhibit of military equipment, artillery and other objects.
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The Bauska Castle contains a collection of cast iron cannons which date back to the latter half of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. They were manufactured in the Duchy of Courland. The cannons that are in the garden of the castle were not found there – they were found in different locations in Zemgale. Four of the largest cannons came from Jaunsvirlauka, where they were found on the banks of the Lielupe River opposite Emburga. They are the best preserved weapons of their type in Latvia. The only cannon that was found in the castle itself is currently in its South-eastern tower as a thematic exhibit. When it was being cleaned, two cannonballs were found in the weapons. The local Livonian Order castle is in ruins, but it and its defensive structures, including earthen ramparts that were installed from the mid-15th until the early 18th century, represent an important element of Latvia’s military heritage.
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Forts were built and rebuilt at this location for many centuries by Germans, Swedes and Russians. In 1912, several forts were erected at Mangaļsala and Bolderāja. There were two forts with 254-mm cannons, six with 152-mm cannons, and three with 138-mm cannons. Each fort had two cannons.
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Late in September 1944, during World War II, the village of More was witness to some of the bloodiest and most merciless battles in Latvia – only those in the so-called “cauldron of Kurzeme” were worse. Members of the Latvian Legion who were fighting on the German side prevented the ability of the Red Army to break through to Rīga, and they also prevented the encirclement of the German military force. The result of the battle was enormously important to the more than 100,000 civilians who took the opportunity to become refugees and escape the Soviet repressions that were not far in the future. Commemorative events are held in the park each September, bringing together eyewitnesses to the battles and other. There’s a memorial wall with the engraved names of members of the Latvian Legion whose names are known, as well as a stone cross to commemorate unknown soldiers. Two kilometres to the East of the park is a museum, outside which is a Soviet army tank.
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The so-called Comet Fort was built on the Left Bank of the Daugava at its mouth, not far from the present Daugavgrīva lighthouse. It was built around the same time as the other forts of Mangaļsala (around 1808, although some sources say 1788). There were four Kane-type 152-mm cannons. The defensive batteries at Komētforts and Mangaļsala repelled a British naval attack in the Daugava estuary in 1855. It has to be added that Komētforts is a cultural monument of local importance. If we go along the shore of the sea from the Daugavgrīva nature reserve toward the Daugavgrīva lighthouse and scale the frontal dunes (without going past the sign which says “Closed Territory. Border Zone.”), then we can see the positions of the cannons, as well as underground cellars where munitions were once stored. The territory starts approximately 500 metres before the Daugavgrīva lighthouse and stretches to the lighthouse itself. During Soviet times, the territory was closed to civilians, because many secret military objects were in this area and in Bolderāja.
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The ship and coast guard missile repair workshops in the forests around Bārta in the Liepāja District are very impressive in visual terms. The facility is owned by the regional local government and is being dismantled to obtain building materials.
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Another coastal defence battery was sited about 1,500 metres to the East of Lūžņa, where the Lūža River flows into the Baltic Sea. Remnants of Soviet-era buildings can still be seen there.
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In the South-western parts of the former Spilve airfield, you can still see concrete areas on which Soviet-era military helicopters once landed.
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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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Ikšķiles vārds Pirmā pasaules kara laikā izskan saistībā ar diviem notikumiem – Ikšķiles priekštilta nocietinājumiem (Nāves sala) un kaujām pie Mazās Juglas upes. 1917. gadā 1. septembra rītausmā Vācijas impērijas armija uzsāka uzbrukumu iepretim Ikšķilei ar mērķi ieņemt Rīgu un saņemt gūstā Krievijas 12. armiju. Ar spēcīgu artilērijas atbalstu vācu vienības izsita Krievijas armijas karavīru daļas no Ikšķiles pozīcijām, kas savukārt ļāva Vācijas armijas karavīriem pa trim pontonu tiltiem šķērsot Daugavas upi. 1.septembra pēcpusdienā vācu izlases vienības sasniedza Mazās Juglas upes apkārtni pie Tīnūžiem, kur tām negaidīti ceļu aizšķērsoja no rezerves steigā atsauktā 8000 vīru lielā 2. latviešu strēlnieku brigāde, kura ieņēma pozīcijas gar Mazās Juglas upi. Latviešu strēlniekiem tika pavēlēts aizkavēt vācu karavīrus, līdz visa 200 00 vīru lielā Krievijas 12. armija izies no aplenkuma, nenokļūstot vācu gūstā. Latviešu strēlnieki savu uzdevumu izpildīja pilnībā, diennakti cīnoties pret gandrīz desmitkārtīgu vācu pārspēku. Kauja pie Mazās Juglas upes bija viena no traģiskākajām un reizē viena no leģendārākajām Latvijas vēstures lapaspusēm. "Tīnūžu muižā" ir izveidota 1. Pasaules kara tēmai un Juglas kaujām veltīta ekspozīcija. |
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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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Brāļu kapos apbedīti aptuveni 2000 karavīru. Pirmos kritušos strēlniekus — Andreju Stūri, Jēkabu Voldemāru Timmu un Jāni Gavenasu — apbedīja 1915. gada 15. oktobrī. Sākot ar 1915. gadu, kapos sāka apbedīt Pirmā pasaules kara kaujās kritušos strēlniekus, vēlāk Februāra revolūcijas laikā nošautos kareivjus. Stučkas valdības laikā 1919. gada pavasarī šeit apbedīja Brīvības cīņās pret vācu vienībām un Dienvidlatvijas brigādi kritušos latviešu strēlniekus. Pirmās Latvijas brīvvalsts laikā Brāļu kapos apbedīja ap 800 Latvijas armijas kareivjus un virsniekus. 1941.—1942. gadā Brāļu kapos apbedīja 15 nacionālos partizānus, kā arī pārapbedīja komunistiskā režīma terora upurus. Līdz 1944. rudenim šeit apbedīja arī vairākus desmitus bijušās Latvijas armijas virsnieku un karavīru, kuri bija dienējuši Latviešu policijas bataljonos un Latviešu leģionā. Abās pusēs ieejas vārtiem (augstums 10 metri, platums 32 metri) divas jātnieku skulptūru grupas (augstums 3,3 metri). Liepu gatve (205 metri) savieno vārtus ar galveno terasi, kuras centrā novietots 1 metru augsts mūžīgās uguns altāris, bet abās pusēs ozolu birzis. No terases abpusējas kāpnes ved uz regulāri veidotu kapulauku. Tā malās atrodas divas "Mirstošo jātnieku" skulpturālās grupas (augstums 3,6 metri), vidus daļā atrodas augstcilnis "Kritušie brāļi". Pret katru kapa vietu novietota smilšakmens vai plienakmens plāksnīte ar kritušā uzvārdu un vārdu vai uzrakstu "Nezināms". Ansambli noslēdz 6 metrus augsta siena ar Latvijas apriņķu un pilsētu vēsturiskajiem ģerboņiem. Pie sienas atrodas četri senlatviešu karavīru tēli, kas simbolizē Latvijas novadus - Kurzemi, Zemgali, Vidzemi un Latgali, bet tās centrā uz 9 metrus augsta sienas masīva paceļas monumentāla figūra "Māte Latvija", kas noliekusi vainagu pār kritušajiem dēliem. Brāļu kapu memoriālais ansamblis ir izcirsts no Allažu šūnakmens, izmantots arī Itālijas travertīns un smilšakmens. Pirmmetu izstrādāja tēlnieks Kārlis Zāle, arhitekts Aleksandrs Birzenieks, Pēteris Feders un Andrejs Zeidaks. |
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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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Ezeres kultūrvēstures un novadpētniecības materiālu krātuve “Muitas nams” ir izveidota vēsturiski nozīmīgā ēkā, kur, II pasaules kara noslēgumam tuvojoties, 1945. gada 8. maijā tika parakstīts Kurzemes katlā ielenkto vācu karaspēka daļu kapitulācijas akts. Ar to tiek uzskatīts, ka Ezerē faktiski beidzies II pasaules karš. Krātuves materiālu ekspozīcijas ir no Ezeres pagasta senvēstures līdz šodienai, tai skaitā ezernieku vaļasprieki. |
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This military object ensured radio communications. Now the facility is owned by the Latvian Defence Ministry, and it can only be viewed from the outside.
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Metsavenna Farm organises forest brethren (or brothers) expeditions for visitors to search out forest brothers in their hideouts, visit an underground bunker, hear true stories of life after WWII, have a taste of home-brew and sing old songs along with the master. The more adventurous can stay a night in the bunker, while in winter a sledding hill is opened for snowy downhill rides. |
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