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The Cape of Kolka is freely accessible to local residents and tourists today, but the border guard facility still serves its purposes and is not open to civilians.
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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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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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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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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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The museum is in Gunpowder Tower, which was an important component in the Medieval fortifications system of Rīga. The basic subject of the museum is Latvia’s military and political history, and exhibits are related to these subjects.
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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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The projector buildings of the former border guard facility have been preserved at Labrags, but they are privately owned.
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Spilves pļavas tika izmantotas kara aviācijas vajadzībām jau 1. Pasaules kara laikā. 1922. gadā bumbu sabojātā lidlauka atjaunošanu veica Latvijas Republikas Aviācijas divizions Jāzepa Baško vadībā. Drīz pēc tam Spilvē 51 hektāru lielā teritorijā pie Rīgas - Bolderājas dzelzceļa atzara un šosejas iekārtoja arī civilo lidostu, kuru no Rīgas pilsētas nomāja Latvijas Pasta un telegrāfa departaments. |
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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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In the small town of Pļaviņas, at the place where the Skanstupīte River flows into the Daugava (Friendship Park), there are the remnants of a set of small and low fortifications known as the Swedish bastions. This was a place of military and political importance, because here was the place where the boundaries of Vidzeme (under Swedish rule), Latgale (under Polish rule), and the Duchy of Kurzeme (on the opposite side of the river) all came together. In 1625, the Swedes were defeated by the Poles here, and Swedish King Gustav Adolf almost lost his life. Medieval bastions of this kind can be seen in some other places of Latvia, as well.
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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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The No. 521 Border Guard post at Ovīši is owned by the Defence Ministry and is closed to civilians. Visitors can only look at the ruins of some buildings in the dunes.
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There are still some buildings, missile silos and an apartment building from the old No. 158 Zenith Missile Base at Ziemupe, but the territory has been abandoned and degraded.
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Today it seems unbelievable that just 20 years ago there were buildings on the coastline with massive projectors that were rolled onto a platform at night so as to shed light on the nearby sea and beach and to look for potential violators of the border regime. Only the buildings and the ruins of the platform are still there – they have been seriously damaged by the waves of the sea.
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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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This is the only Soviet military object of its type and scope in Latvia – a long-distance communications base which was supposedly used to maintain contacts with Soviet naval ships and submarines all around the world. The facility had a central tower and six perimeter towers, each more than 200 metres high. Some of the towers remain in place and are used for mobile communications. It is rumoured that the Soviet communications system was never once turned on. The complex at Upīškalns can be seen by driving down the Skrunda-Kuldīga road. It is some 3 km before the Kuldīga ring road, at a populated location called Raidstacija.
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The bridge was built in 1906. Part of it was blown up during World War I and later restored. During the Soviet occupation, one needed special permits to cross the bridge. Military ships and other vessels used the canal, because one of the largest military bases in the USSR was sited here. In the summer of 2006, one month before the bridge’s centenary, a Georgian-flagged tanker, the Anna, rammed into the northern support structure of the bridge, and that destroyed the bridge’s turning part beyond recognition. The bridge was renovated and reopened in 2009. You can look at the bridge and cross it at any time.This is a unique engineering monument, and it is the only drawbridge of its kind in the Baltic States. It takes just five minutes to turn the two parts of the bridge.
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The former military field hospital is in the park, south from Ventspils Seaside Open-air Museum. A few of the small architectural forms of the building have been preserved.
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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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