Liepaja Coast Defence Battery 23 Fortification

The battery is located between Tobago and Marine Streets, seawards.

According to the "base agreement" between the Republic of Latvia and the USSR, signed on 5 October 1939, a contingent of nearly 25 000 Red Army and Baltic Navy troops was to be stationed in Kurzeme. By March 1941, Baltic naval bases were established in Latvia in the defence sectors of Irbe Bay, Saaremaa and Liepaja, consisting of coastal defence batteries.

The Liepaja coastal defence sector included the 208th artillery division with two 130 mm B-13 gun batteries (No 23 and No 27) and one 180 mm rail gun battery. Construction of Battery 23 began in November 1939 and was completed on 17 May 1941, partly using the reinforced concrete fortifications of Battery No. 2 of Liepaja Fortress. Battery 23 consisted of four reinforced concrete gun positions on the seafront, a command post and an observation (range-finding) tower in the dune forest. The range-finding positions were located in reinforced concrete towers to ensure better visibility while maintaining concealment in the pine forest.

Gun positions 1 and 2 are located on the seafront and partially eroded, while gun position 4 is the most visible in the dunes. Battery 23 was blown up by Soviet soldiers on 27 June 1941 during the retreat from Liepāja.

After the Second World War, Battery 23 was renamed Battery 636, armed with the same 130 mm B-13 guns, but a new range-keeping tower was built in 1954 for fire control, adjacent to the 1941 tower. In 1963, all the Liepaja coastal defence guns were dismantled.

After the restoration of Latvia's independence, the area of Battery No 2 is in the use of the Ministry of Defence.

The two towers are located very close to each other - only 10 m apart. The four gun positions were located to the right of both towers, actually on the seafront. The reinforced concrete bunker of the personnel who manned the guns is now washed away by the waves and has a washed-out foundation, tilted and leaning seawards.