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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 zenith missile base at Rucava is in the forests of the Baltic coastline. The facility is owned by the regional local government and is not used at this time.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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Encircled by apartment buildings, some of which are abandoned, the Tosmare water tower, which was built in 1905 in a pseudo-Gothic style and is made of red bricks, stands tall and proud. It is 37 metres high. Steam pumps were once used to pump underground water into the tower (the pumps have survived to this very day). Water was delivered three times a day to the residents of Karosta. The tower is no longer used for its original purpose, however. The tower can be viewed from the outside at any time. This is a unique aspect of Latvia’s industrial heritage.
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This is an abandoned facility that is no longer used. The coast guard facility is in the forest, around 600 metres from the sea. There is one building right on the shore.
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This unique territory covers more than 24,400 hectares, and the Soviet military used it as an aviation training centre. The history of the base dates back to 1951, when four kolkhozes were shut down, roads were closed, and several hundred farms and homes were simply moved elsewhere. A civilian presence at the base was restored only in 1993, when several new roads were installed. If you want to get a bird’s eye view of the base and its forests, you have to climb a high, manmade hillock from which commanders watched manoeuvres. We do not recommend that you wander off from the roads!
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The coast guard facility is not used at this time. Still there is a monument, a border post, and lavatories with wooden toilet paper holders. A good view of the facility can be seen from the high barrier along its southern edge.
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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 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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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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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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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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The norther part of the Liepāja fortress includes the so-called military port, which was opened to the public after the restoration of Latvia’s independence. The forts, defensive batteries, the Orthodox Sea Cathedral of St Nicholas, a water tower, a sports hall, the port’s prison, the northern breakwater, and the rotating bridge of Oskars Kalpaks are all interesting destinations. |
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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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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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