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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 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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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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The Soviet Border Guard facility at Mērsrags was the start of the border regime zone. Absolutely nothing of the facility is left for perusal today.
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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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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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Today there’s a single-family farm and not much else, but at one time Olmaņi was the site of two important coastal batteries collectively known as “Krastnoflotskaya.” Until 1955, the one to the South of Olmaņi, there were four 152-mm Kane type cannons, which were manufactured during World War I and were widely used to protect the coastal territory of the Baltic Soviet republics of Latvia and Estonia during the rule of the Soviet regime. Small concentric ramparts of earth are all that’s left there today. After 1955, to the North of Olmaņi, another battery was installed with four MY-2 152-mm cannons. They had a range of 25 km. The battery remained in battle readiness until 1975, when it was turned into a reserve facility. It’s not easy to find, but it’s worth the search. The platforms for the cannons and the subterranean bunkers are still there. This was indeed one of the most impressive coastal batteries along the shores of the Baltic Sea.
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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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Viens no parka neparastākajiem vēstures objektiem, kas apvīts ar daudzām leģendām un noslēpumiem, par kuriem vēl joprojām nelabprāt izsakās ar to saistītie cilvēki. Zināms, ka bāzi laikā no 1960. – 1962. g. ļoti stingrā slepenībā cēla ~ 10 000 kareivji no citām padomju republikām. Pazemes ejas bija būvētas tā, lai pa tām varētu pārvietoties tikai maza auguma cilvēki. Zem zemes atradās 4 šahtas, no kurām varēja palaist vidējā rādiusa ballistiskās raķetes R – 12 U ar kodolgalviņām. Blakus atradās apkalpojošā personāla telpas, elektrības ģenerators, sakaru centrs u.c. Līdz 2010. g. bāzi varēja apskatīt vietējā gida pavadībā. Tagad to rekonstruē un 2012. g. plāno atklāt Aukstā kara muzeju. Bāze atrodas austrumos no Plateļu ezera, liela meža masīva vidū. |
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The Karaosta canal and its naval and submarine base date back to the tsarist era in advance of World War I. The former submarine base is now closed to visitors and is used for business purposes. The canal can be viewed from Pulvera Street and the restored Kalpaks bridge.
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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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The air defence radar facilities at the Liepāja airport in Cimdenieki are gone now, although the man-made terrain in the area remains interesting today.
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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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The ship and coast guard missile repair workshops in the forests around Bārta in the Liepāja District are very impressive in visual terms. The facility is owned by the regional local government and is being dismantled to obtain building materials.
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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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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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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 is the rumoured location of a military aviation engine testing laboratory. The territory is now industrial and locked off, and nothing remains to suggest that such a lab was ever really there.
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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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