World War I bunkers near Pilskalne Siguldiņa Bunker
The bunkers are located in the nature reserve "Pilskalnes Siguldiņa", which is a beautiful valley eroded by glaciers in the village of Pilskalnes, near Ilūkste. To get to the bunkers, you have to go along a well-maintained walking path (entrance fee, 2.50 euros for adults), taking into account a 5-6 km long road (there and back). If you are interested in seeing only the bunkers, you can park your vehicle at the cell tower and follow the path across the meadow to the sign for the bunkers.
Ilūkste experienced heavy battles in the First World War and suffered a lot. Almost all the buildings were destroyed. The press of the 1920s even called Ilūksti "Latvijas Verdena". 1915 The Nemunas Army of the German Empire (8th Army) continued the Kurzeme offensive after the victory at Šiauliai, as well as the attack towards Daugavpils, reaching the Ilūkste region from the west in September. Intense battles took place in Ilūkste from October 16 to 24, going even to street battles and bayonet fights in the city streets. On October 23, German forces (78th Reserve Division of the 1st Reserve Corps of the Nemunas Army) broke into the city from the direction of Schlosberg Manor (now Pilskalne) and henceforth used the city as a point of departure for the development of the attack. The Schlosberg manor itself was completely destroyed during the war, and only a fragment of the gate has survived to this day. The positions near Ilūkste were defended by the regiments of the 17th division of the 19th corps of the Russian V army, which lost 10,000 soldiers in the battles. In November, they managed to push the Germans back a little, recapturing part of the Ilūkste cemetery on November 14 and part of the eastern outskirts of the city on November 25. The city until 1917 was on the very front line and therefore suffered heavily.
Chemical warfare gases were also used near Ilūkste. It is more widely known about the use of gases on Death Island and elsewhere on the Riga front, but also on 8 of 1916 (21). In November, the Russian army carried out a gas attack near Ilūkste (in the lane of the XII Army Corps). This was officially informed by the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, which called the attack a success. According to the reports of correspondents, the Germans did not expect such an attack and suffered heavy losses. The report on the gas attack is included in the archive fund of the Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Front (Russian State War History Archive, fund 2031).
The damage was so great that after the war, the functioning of the Ilūkstes district center institutions was not possible, so the district institutions were initially located in Grīva (Daugavpils part).
The bunkers are located at the northern end of the ravine, arranged in a line on the hill, surrounded by forest. They could be located between the first and second lines. No exact information has been preserved when the construction of concrete bunkers started, but most likely it happened in 1916. at the beginning, when the situation at the front became stable and it became clear that we would have to stay here longer. The group of positions consists of trenches and several bunkers, arranged on the east side, with their entrances facing the west. The first bunker has served as a storage for ammunition and materials. Behind it is an open-type circular concrete defensive structure, which is believed to have served as a mortar position, but further on was probably a command and staff bunker. A position to the north, the last in a series of bunkers and closer to the edge of the forest, could have been a flank defense bunker. There is a ravine to the east, which forms a natural obstacle if the enemy tries to approach from the east. Several pits can also be seen in the area, where several more wooden bunkers could have been located.
