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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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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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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 is a closed and guarded territory on the banks of Lake Būšnieks in Staldzene. The former project building is on the shore of the sea.
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This building was erected in 1903 and 1904 to be used for military training, exercises and ceremonial events. An addition to the South of the building held a small church, but it is gone. The building was used for gymnastics performances and competitions for horseback riders. Official meals for the garrison’s sailors were held there, too – the hall could hold up to 3,000 people. Only the outer walls survive today, sad to say. You can view the exterior and interior of the hall at any time. This is the only building of its size and type in Latvia. The roof once had bands of glass tiles.
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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 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.
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The zenith missile brigade and its communications headquarters were used for the provision, planning and co-ordination of radio communications. The object is all but abandoned, but it is owned by the Latvian Repatriation Centre and the Christian Mission.
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The battery is to the South of Ventspils, not far from the Piejūras Park. Work on the battery began in 1939. Today the site is a complete mess, standing out in a negative way from the tidy city itself. People seeking building materials and ferrous metals helped to tear the place down. It’s too bad that this historical location – one that might be of interest to tourists – is in such sad shape, and right at the gates of the city, to boot.
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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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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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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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There are several partly preserved buildings here, but there is a lack of information as to what they were used for. The reason why the buildings are in such sad shape is that people have removed parts of them to use as building materials.
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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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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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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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The communications facility in the forests of Bārta has been abandoned and is not being used other than for dismantling of buildings to obtain building materials.
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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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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.
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The Staldzene Zenith Missile Brigade used a large territory and a number of major buildings. Some of these are now privately owned, and a fish smoking facility has been installed at one of them.
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