| No | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |
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.
|
|
 |
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.
|
|
 |
The Karosta prison cannot be described, it must be experienced and survived. That’s an opportunity for everyone. This is the best example in Latvia as to how the military heritage can be used for tourism purposes. Others can learn from this site. |
|
 |
These are the ruins of World War II fortifications near what is now the Ķegums hydroelectric power plant. One blockhouse was found on the left bank of the Daugava River, approximately one kilometre to the South-Southeast from the plant’s dam. A second is also on the left bank of the river, opposite the Rēzijas campground. It has slid down the abraded shore of the reservoir and is partly underwater. It is mostly accessible by boat.
|
|
 |
The Plāņciems missile base is in the forests of Bārta and is not easy to access. This special air defence facility is being dismantled for the purpose of obtaining building materials.
|
|
 |
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.
|
|
 |
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.
|
|
 |
On the shore of the Daugava River, to the East of Lielupes Street and South-east of Jātnieku Street, there are the remnants of four battery positions that were blown up in their day. The batteries had 152-mm cannons, and this was part of the former system of fortifications in Rīga (see also Komētforts, the Daugavgrīva fortress, and the fortifications of Mangaļsala). The aim was to protect the city from invaders who came from the sea. From the top of the batteries you can see the Daugava and the northern segment of the manmade Krievu Island (a huge pile of sand). It does have to be said that the condition of this historical monument is quite pitiful.
|
|
 |
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.
|
|
 |
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.
|
|
 |
In 1944, between November 14 and December 9, there were fierce battles between SD and SS units from the German 16th Army, under the command of Police General Friedrich Jekeln, and a separate battalion of the Kurelians, under the command of Lt Roberts Rubenis. The battles were waged in the Ugāle, Usma, Renda and Zlēki parishes. Rubenis’ men were well-armed and organised. There were more than 600 troops, and the soldiers saw themselves as a national force which stood apart from the two hostile occupant regimes. This was the longest and most extensive battle in the history of Latvian national resistance. As the military force of the Latvian Central Council, the unit enjoyed extensive public support and confirmed a high level of morality in fighting for the restoration of a democratic Latvia. (The preceding text comes from the Rubenis Fund.)
|
|
 |
One of the largest tank bases in the Baltic War District was located during Soviet times just South of Gardene. The territory has largely been abandoned, and there are just a few remnants of the buildings that were once there. If you drive down the Dobele-Annenieki road, you will find a paved military road splitting off from it. It is still used today. The buildings and urban planning of Gardene are also of interest – during the Soviet era, soldiers and their families lived there.
|
|
 |
Dole Island is the largest river island in Latvia, and it is the site of the Dole baronial estate. The mansion of the estate was built in 1898 by the aristocratic family which owned the estate. Today the mansion is home to the Dole Museum with a rich exhibition which tells about the lives of people on the shores of the Daugava River. The adjoining park features ethnographic buildings, as well as lamprey and salmon spawning grounds. There are five unique cannons that were found in Salaspils when a new stadium was being built there. In 1910, a tsarist military camp was here, and a monument to Tsar Peter the Great was unveiled. One of the cannons is in the exhibition of the museum itself.
|
|
 |
This battery is easiest to find if you walk on the beach, because one of its four positions is right there, rinsed by the waves of the sea. Other positions, including a telescope tower, are in the pine forest not far from the coast. The battery was installed in the 1940s, and you can see the Northern Forts from here.
|
|
 |
The military communications facilities at Pāvilosta are along the southern part of the town. The facilities are owned by the local government, and there is no information about their use at this time.
|
|
 |
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.
|
|
 |
In October 1948, nationalist partisans who opposed the Soviet regime built a 9x6 m bunker in the forests of Īle for themselves. Five months later, the KGB attacked the bunker. After five hours of gunfire, 15 partisans lay dead, and another nine were captured. The bunker has been restored in commemoration of this event, and it is open to visitors.
|
|
 |
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.
|
|
 |
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.
|
|
 |
Until the 1680s, where the Vecdaugava neighbourhood is located, there was a castle which, because of natural changes in the riverbed of the Daugava, was then dismantled and “moved” to the Left Bank of the Daugava. Nothing remains of the castle, but people can still see the remnants of old barriers and moats. Swedish soldiers used the facility at the beginning of the Great Northern War. The place is certainly interesting in the context of Rīga’s history and military heritage, and if you’re in the northern reaches of the city, we recommend that you go and have a look.
|
|
