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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 projector buildings of the former border guard facility have been preserved at Labrags, but they are privately owned.
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The former Soviet communications division at Plāņciems in the forests of Bārta is privately owned and is being dismantled at this time.
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This facility is used for military and tactical training at this time. The facility can be used for automobile and motorcycle racing, testing drives, and security training, all of which must be arranged in advance. The surrounding nature reserve offers a chance to look at local plants and animals.
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An impressive set of military structures between the Baltic Sea and Lake Liepāja and Lake Tosmare. Construction of the fortress began in the late 19th century on the basis of a decree by Russian Tsar Alexander III, and it cost 45 million gold roubles. The fortress includes accommodations and elements of fortifications – sites for cannons, trenches, gunpowder cellars, systems of canals, a narrow-gauge rail line, etc. In 1908, the fortress was shut down because of a change in Russia’s defence concept, and the construction of it was declared to have been a strategic mistake. There were attempts to blow up the underground structures and cellars during World War I, but that did not really succeed. Some elements of the fortress were of great importance in Latvia’s liberation battles. Surviving today are the Northern forts, the Central fort, the Eastern fort, the Southern fort, the shoreline defensive batteries (No. 23, 3), Redāns, Lunete, and others. Most are not improved, so visits may be dangerous. The northern part of the fortress includes the Military Port, which has experienced seven different armies and regimes. During the Soviet years, it was closed to civilians. There are many outstanding monuments to military history. Tourists love the Karosta prison, which offers educational programmes. |
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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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The Lūžņa radio equipment company was part of the Naval Border Guard in Soviet Times. The car park in the centre of Lūžņa offers a fine view of the former military complex. Some buildings are used as apartment buildings at this time.
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Another example of a costal defence battery along the Kurzeme shoreline is found here.
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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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The border guard facility at Pāvilosta is closed to civilians at this time, because it is used by the Latvian Navy.
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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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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.
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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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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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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 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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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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Redāns ir 19. gadsimta beigās celtā Liepājas Jūras cietokšņa daļa, kur notikušas Latvijai nozīmīgas cīņas. Lai gan uzbūvētie nocietinājumi ap Karostu tika atzīti par stratēģisku kļūdu un vairums no tiem saspridzināti, Redāns palicis teju neskarts. Tā ir arī vienīgā nocietinājuma daļa, kur notikusi reāla karadarbība.Par liecina ložu šautie caurumi sienās. 1919. gada 14. novembrī šeit notika brīvības cīņas par neatkarīgu Latviju, aizstāvot Liepāju pret Bermonta karaspēku. 14. novembra rītā, pārejot aizsalušo Tosmares ezeru, bermontiešu kājnieki ieņēma Redānu. Taču dažu stundu laikā liepājnieki veica niknu pretuzbrukumu, un vāciešiem nācās atkāpties. Jūnijā, jūlijā un augustā katru dienu plkst. 11.00–17.00 pie Redāna gaidīs zinošs gids, kas būs gatavs pastāstīt vairāk par Liepājas cietoksni un vēsturiskajiem notikumiem Karostā. Cena – 2 EUR no personas. |
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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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