The actual berthing location of the ship “Saratov”
Memorial site
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The actual berth of the ship “Saratov” is located in Liepāja, at Vecā ostmalā 59 near the boat piers, but the memorial is located in the immediate vicinity of the Liepāja special economic zone.
Built in 1888 in Copenhagen at the shipyard "Buvmeistar & Wain" under the name "Leopold II". In 1911, it was bought by the Russian Northwest Shipping Company and renamed "Saratov", with Latvian Aleksandrs Remess becoming the ship's captain.
In May 1915, when Liepāja was occupied by German troops, the “Saratov” was in the harbor in a damaged condition.
On January 10, 1919, the steamer “Saratov” was taken over for the needs of the Latvian Provisional Government. From April 1919 to July 1919, the Provisional Government led by K. Ulmanis was on board the ship “Saratov” after the “April 16 Coup”, which was forced to seek refuge under the protection of the Allied fleet.
On July 8, 1919, after the Provisional Government of K. Ulmanis was brought to Riga, the steamer was used in traffic between Riga, Ventspils and Liepāja.
According to the terms of the peace treaty between Latvia and Soviet Russia of August 11, 1920, the steamer “Saratov” had to be returned to the Soviet side. On January 2, 1923, the steamer was handed over to the representative of Soviet Russia. On January 15, 1923, the steamer “Saratov” was lost near Akmeņrags.
In 1936, the Latvian Maritime Department sold the shipwreck to a company that raised it and handed it over for scrap metal to the Liepāja Wire Factory.
Related stories
Cape and the ship "Saratov"
It can be assumed that Liepaja was the capital of Latvia for a short period of time, because during the Freedom Struggle the Provisional Government was stationed on the ship Saratov in this very city. The Saratov took the Provisional Government to Riga after its liberation, but many people do not know that the history of such an important ship for us ended at sea at Akmenrags.
Artūrs Ozols' memories of the ship "Saratov"
Artūrs Ozols graduated from Riga Polytechnic and served as a naval officer (midshipman) and engineer in the Russian Black Sea Fleet aboard the warship Panteleimon. During the Latvian Liberation Struggle, he joined the Student Company. In Liepaja he put the ship "Saratov" into service. Arthurs Ozols' memoirs about the ship "Saratov" were published in the Dauagava Vanagi monthly
Akmeņrags Lighthouse and Shoal - one of the largest ship graveyards in the Baltic Sea
It was in the Akmensrags lighthouse area that, on January 13, 1923, the steamer Saratov , on which the provisional government led by K. Ulmanis took refuge when the independent state of Latvia was established, tragically ran aground and crashed.
Latvian Army armored train No. 5 or "Kolpaks"
Latvian Army Armoured Train No.5 or "Kalpaks" was a light armoured train in the Latvian Armed Forces in 1919.