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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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The former Soviet-era fuel base was part of the military facilities at that time. Fuel tanks from this site have been removed and no longer exist. |
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In Soviet times, the border guards of Ventspils established a major complex of buildings, open areas and various objects. Most of these are no longer in use, and the area is not under guard.
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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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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 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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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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This testimony to World War II can be found in the Blīdene Parish. It is one of the very few objects of its type to still be in good condition.
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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 coast guard facility was housed in a building that used to be a maritime school. In the post-Soviet era, accommodations were offered at the building. The coast guard tower is one of the best-preserved objects of its kind along the Latvian shoreline.
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All that’s left of the battery today are the ruins of a cement blockhouse which have slid all the way down to the beach because of years of abuse by the wind and the waves. It is an interesting monument to history with a long-term fate that we can guess at – it will disappear under the sea.
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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.
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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.
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Viena no slepenākajām vietām kādreizējā Padomju Latvijā - bunkuri ir bijušais raķešu vadības punkts un patvertne. Bunkurus izveidoja 1950. un 1960. gadu mijā Padomju armijas vajadzībām. Par atrašanos šajā teritorijā draudēja bargs sods. Celtnes izveidošanai ar milzīgām 16- riteņu kravas automašīnām tika atvesti lieli dzelzbetona bloki. Pēc trīs bunkuru izveidošanas, papildus nostiprināšanai un nosiltināšanai tos apbēra ar granti. Celtne sastāv no 2 x 3 sekcijām, kas pievienotas vidējam gaitenim. Blakus ēkā atradās skola, kad 1946. gadā tā daļēji bija izdegusi, tika noslēgts līgums ar Padomju armijas garnizonu par telpu īri. Tā Valkas pilsētas centrā radās militārais centrs un Valka kļuva par Padomju Savienībai svarīgu kodolbruņojuma objektu. Objekts pieejams tikai no ārpuses! |
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There’s hardly anything left of the zenith missile base which once stood here for the purpose of protecting the western boundaries of the USSR – even specialists would have a hard time finding the location.
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A rare monument survives in Skulte – a Soviet-era jet bomber, the IL-28, which supposedly was equipped to carry winged missiles. The airplane is on three cement pedestals.
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This extensive territory to the South of Pāvilosta once was the site of warehouses and an oil base. The territory at this time is used for the extraction of raw materials. There is also a sawmill there. The sign at the entrance of the facility states that the area can be dangerous to visitors.
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This is one of the most visually expressive coastal defence batteries in Latvia. Why? Because most it has been fully or at least partly washed into the sea, creating a truly unusual landscape, particularly during stormy weather. This is an historical monument which is subject to the mighty power of Mother Nature. The battery can also be seen from the Northern breakwater of Liepāja. It’s worth hiking the four kilometres along the beach to the Northern Forts. Along the way, you can take a look at the No. 23 Coastal Defence Battery.
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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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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.
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