Memorial site for Finnish pilots Memorial site

Located on the side of the Lilaste-Saulkrasti highway, next to the "Viada" gas station.

The memorial was established in 2013 at the site of a Finnish Air Force plane crash in 1943. Four Finnish army soldiers died in the crash while flying from Germany to Finland. The installation, design and construction of the monument were entirely the initiative of Finnish representatives. It is a tradition of Finnish war pilots to erect memorials at the crash sites of aircraft.

In 1943, Finland purchased 24 modern Junker bombers from Germany. They were intended to supplement the Finnish Army Air Force with modern aircraft. The factory delivered the aircraft in 1943 and, after training the pilots, they were delivered to Finland. The flight of one aircraft ended tragically. Due to technical defects, the pilots were forced to look for a place to make an emergency landing. The aircraft lost altitude, hit trees, crashed into a forest and caught fire. The Finnish pilots were buried in the German army cemetery in Riga during the German occupation of Latvia. They were later reburied in their homeland.

Interestingly, one of the most modern aircraft manufactured in Latvia at the time also crashed in Finland in 1938. It was piloted by Latvian and Finnish army pilots - K. Lešinskis and F. Kuopameki.