Military Heritage Tourism Stories

On 11 September 1939, a German Henkel He-111 bomber was raiding Polish cities when it went off course at night and made an emergency landing on Liepāja beach. This event is recounted in the memoirs of Vilis Zobens, a Liepaja resident and a liaison company officer of the Kurzeme Division. The landing site is not marked in nature. The approximate coordinates are N 56.59368° E 21.01598° - on the beach near the Northern Forts.

Eesti Vabadussõjas toimunud Lohusuu lahingust ja seal osalenud meestest ja relvadest.

Latvian Army Armoured Train No.5 or "Kalpaks" was a light armoured train in the Latvian Armed Forces in 1919.

Major Sulev Truuväärt, an islander who had served in Dejevo, recalled that a soldier had died in the army during his time.

During the USSR era, the seacoast in North and West Kurzeme were actually military zones closed to the public, but it was forbidden to visit the lighthouses or even take photographs

The newspaper "Australian Latvian" published an article about a meeting with Arvīds Blūmentāls at his home in Australia. 

(A small episode from the journey to the roots of the Australian centre and west coast together with Aivars and Benita Browne.)

Extrajudicial killings in Latvian territory during the war, at the end of June and beginning of July 1941, were the last manifestation of repression and violence in the first stage of the communist occupation, which ended with the entry of Nazi German troops into the entire territory of Latvia.

The reason for the shooting was terrible and tragic – it was no longer possible to transfer the detainees to Russia, but they could not be left alive. As a result, extrajudicial shootings of residents took place in Liepāja during the war, similarly to the cases in Riga Central Prison, Valmiera Prison, Valka and Rēzekne militias, and on the Croix Hill near Ludza. In Liepāja, this crime of the Soviet occupation power was realized in the "Blue Miracle" – Liepaja militia building, Republikas Street 19.

Bashkir-born Red Army soldier Rais Ahmadeev's (19 years old) account of the Soviet army's preparations for the attack on Priekule and the reconnaissance battle in Piekule on 14 February 1945.

In February 1919, after a successful anti-German campaign in Finland, German General Ridiger von der Goltz was appointed commander of the German armed formations in Courland and Northern Lithuania, including the Landwehr, which included the 1st Latvian Battalion. During his visit to the front in February 1919, he also arrived in Rudbārži. Lieutenant Jānis Ķīselis, the battalion's special task officer, described the General's visit in his memoirs.

In 1381, the 80-year-old Bishop of Saare-Lääne Heinrich III found its end in the castle.

In November 1944, a court-martial of the German occupation authorities sentenced 8 staff officers of General Kurel's group, three staff officers were pardoned for various reasons. The lieutenant colonel managed to escape from being shot, but Graudiņš was "trampled" by the German concentration camp system

Description of the combat activity of the commander of the detachment, Lieutenant Commander Julius Rosenthal Vilis Narkevics, 3 November 1921

The tomb of Julius Kuperjanov, the hero of the War of Independence, became a symbol of resistance during the Soviet era.

When Moscow was preparing for the Summer Olympics in 1980, the question was: where to hold a sailing competition? It turns out that the choice fell initially to Riga, because there are ideal conditions for sailing in the Gulf of Riga and the city is also old and beautiful, will not be ashamed. However, some Rigans still remember or the younger generation has read on the Internet that Riga, as if .. has given up this high honor and therefore the organization of the competition has been moved to Pirita, a suburb of Tallinn. The Estonians received huge funding and built a new and modern complex for sailing and recreation, which after the end of the Olympics no one was traveling to admire .... But now one interesting nuance has been revealed - it has become known why Riga has given up this honor ...

The company of volunteers of the Cēsis Regiment took part in the battles of Cēsis in 1919, which was formed as a battle unit of 108 young people of Valmiera and Cēsis schools on June 5 in the premises of Cēsis Progymnasium. Already on the night of June 5 to 6, an hour after midnight, there was anxiety and the ornament was ordered to go into positions. Rota went on the line Mācītājsmuiža - Meijermuiža, which was considered to be the most important battlefield.
In the first battle, several students were injured, but Edgars Krieviņš from Valmiera died from a very serious abdominal injury on the same day. On June 13, he was buried in a military honor at the Valmiera City Cemetery. After his death, Edgars Krieviņš was awarded the Lāčplēsis War Order.

The pasture of the local cows was close to the missile base.

Memoirs of Talava Megnis from Kocēni about the events in the 1991 barricades in Riga.
"On January 13, about 40 residents of Kocēni left Laz, driver Vitālijs Sprukts and minibus Latvija, driver Jānis Grava for the demonstration in Riga.
After the demonstration, when we met at the buses, we repeatedly heard on the radio the call of the Latvian People's Front, those who can, to stay in Riga and defend strategically important objects to make it more difficult to capture them, similarly to Vilnius television. We saw these footage filmed by Podnieks before leaving for Riga.

Bumbu Hill is a high hill in the Bolderāja dunes, Kleistu Forest, Rīga. Memorial to the Latvian Freedom Fights. During the Bermontiad in November 1919, the command post of the Latgale Division led by Krišjānis Berkis was located here. The 6th Riga Infantry Regiment, attacking from Bumbu Hill, captured Sudrabkalniņa. A memorial plaque was erected in 1939 and destroyed in 1969. The memorial site was restored in 1989.

In its more than 100 years of existence, the bridge has survived two wars and different owners, which have affected its operation. The bridge was blown up during World War I, but was rebuilt after the war, only to be damaged again in 1926 by the steamship Narne. The bridge was rebuilt again, but it also suffered during World War II when the invading Soviet army shelled the port of Liepaja.

At the beginning of 1992, on one day, under mysterious circumstances, two "war" planes produced during the Russian Soviet era crashed at the Zvārde training ground and Ledurga, 40 minutes apart.

The base of seaplanes was built in Papissaare and the air defense batteries of Kiirassaare were built.

In the fall of 1915, the front line stabilized. The positions of the army of the Russian Empire passed through Medumi. The 250th searchlight division of the searchlight company was also stationed in Medumi. The exact location of this department in the village of Medumu has been determined.

Memories of Valdis Pigožnis during the operation of "Upīškalns" about Upīškalns military base

(Pigožnis was former head of Kurmale parish)

Alfrēds Riekstiņš, a Latvian legionnaire, was recruited for cooperation with the US intelligence service CIA after World War II.

Spending my childhood in the vicinity of the Zvārde target range, under the sounds of explosions and flying jet planes, but still sometimes on weekends I could enter the range. After the departure of the Soviet army, the land was littered with bomb craters and many explosive objects, not only from the time of the landfill, but also from the 2nd World War. Especially the boys liked to burn phosphorus capsules ...

Several monuments to the Red Army have been erected in Tukums during the Soviet occupation. Today, they have still not lost their former Soviet ideological goals and continue to create the myth of the Red Army as liberators. There are many sources for the crimes of Red Army soldiers. One group of sources can be found in local newspapers, which vividly describe the Red Army's permissiveness and the scale of the crime.

In 2020, I.Kupce tells the story of her family member's father-in-law's experience in the Grieze Soviet filtration camp in 1945, after the surrender of the German army in Kurzeme.

According to legend, in 1785, a Russian engineer who had drawn up a plan for a convent building found a basement in the eastern corner of the courtyard of the fortress.

The memorial site is located on the site of the former “Daiņkalni” and “Graškalni” houses of Rauna Parish, under which a group of national partisans led by Dailonis Breiks (nickname Edgars, 1911-1952) hid in the bunkers created from 1950 to 1952.

The name of Valdemārs Ęinter was the last hope of many Latvian refugees to escape to Sweden. Too much attention from the fugitives was dangerous, and therefore Günther maintained secrecy

Kurzeme was established as a separate and isolated battlefield on October 10, 1944. About 500,000 soldiers of the German armed forces were counted as surrounded. According to the reports of the headquarters of the 1st Baltic Front, only a "slight effort" was needed to completely liberate the entire Baltic coast. However, the fighting in Kurzeme continued for another seven months and Kurzeme became a symbol of the end of World War II.

During the seven months of fighting until May 1945, the German armed forces lost 154,108 dead, wounded and missing soldiers in Kurzeme, while the Red Army lost around 400,000 dead, wounded or missing Red Army soldiers.

Andrus Müüripea (1877-1945), aka Puka from the village of Andrus Lepik, was a famous blacksmith in Muhu before the war.

As partisans in 1945/1946 expelled the occupiers from Kabyle in the year / Article (lsm.lv)

Memories of Lieutenant Commander Jānis Ķīselis about the battles at Skrunda School on 22 January 1919

The fate of Senior Lieutenant Viļa Gelbe (1890-1919) reflects the difficult situation in the formation of our country and army, as well as in the evaluation of these events.
With the proclamation of the Latvian state on November 18, 1918, the War of Independence and the work of forming the armed forces also began. Vilis Gelbe, a naval lieutenant born in Kurzeme, was in the front ranks of Latvian volunteers.

In the Cēsis battles of 1919, a group of volunteers from the Cēsis Regiment took part in the battles of the Cēsis Regiment. Already on the night of June 5 to 6, an hour after midnight, there was anxiety and the ornament was ordered to go into positions. Rota went on the line Mācītājsmuiža - Meijermuiža, which was considered to be the most important battlefield.

The origins of the idea of the Rauna Freedom Monument can be traced back to August 21, 1929, when the head of the city of Cēsis and the head of the Cēsis district invited the most prominent public employees of Rauna parish to a meeting, calling to honor the acquisition of freedom and build a monument in Rauna.

For years, I have not noticed any sustained interest in the unique places just eight to ten kilometres north of the city centre among the residents of Old Liepaja. But hidden in the thicket of the forest, on the dune bank or on the marsh paths, the historic sites of the Karosta are no less interesting historical facts and stories worthy of long-forgotten legends. One of them - the former 23rd Coastal Artillery Battery of the USSR - will be the subject of this story.

At the very end of the Second World War, both the Red Army in offensive positions and the German Army in defensive positions had plans which, given the end of the Second World War, were not implemented by either side.

In the First World War, new technical means were massively used (machine guns, poisonous gases, tanks, submarines, artillery tornado tactics, flamethrowers, combat aviation), which increased the amount of human killing to an unprecedented level. It is said that the last knightly battles were fought in the air because of mutual respect and unwritten rules between the pilots. At the beginning of the war, when the planes were not yet equipped with weapons and flew on surveillance missions, the pilots of the opposing sides even greeted each other in the air. On the other hand, the enemy pilots who were shot down or captured later used to inform the other side by flying to the enemy airfield and dropping a piece of paper in a sandbag or even the report of the captured pilots.

On March 27, 1919, the 1st Valmiera Infantry Regiment, together with the Estonian bodyguard Tallinn (then Rēvele) and Tērbata battalions, as well as three armed trains from the banks of the Melnupe, began the liberation of Latvia from the Bolsheviks.

In October 1944, the German army retreats. The 3rd armoured train arrives at Vaiņode station.

As a result of the collapse of the German front, only small units of the German 61st Infantry Division, supported by the armoured train, were present in the eastern outskirts of Vaiņode. The resistance was quickly overcome and by the evening of 9 October the whole of Vaiņode was under the complete control of the Red Army.

The report of the commander of the German army armoured train No.3 reflects the intense events of those days and the loss of armoured train No.3.

Battery construction was hugely expensive.

To the north of the South Fort is the largest cemetery in Liepāja - the Central Cemetery. In the southern part of the cemetery there is a Red Army cemetery, where Soviet soldiers who died in the vicinity of Liepāja are reburied, including the commander of the 67th Rifle Division, Major General Nikolai Dedaev, who led the defence of Liepāja in June 1941.

The records of the German army group "North", later renamed "Kurland" during the siege of Courland, still do not contain clear information about the approximately 50 000 German soldiers. These soldiers are listed as missing. Even today, the relatives of these soldiers are trying to find traces of their relatives and ancestors in Kurland, both documentary and physical. One such story is that of Karl Grimm, a German soldier from Swabia (a historical region in south-west Germany, at the source of the Rhine and Danube rivers), whose war career was cut short on 27 October 1944 at the Krūmi home near Vaiņode (5 km to the NW from Vaiņode, Latvia)

Before leaving Irbene, the Soviet army damaged all radio telescope systems

The Embute Church is one of the most vivid witnesses of the Second World War in Kurzeme. Traces of artillery and other shells can still be seen on the church walls and bell tower. The German army used the church (like many others in Kurzeme and elsewhere) for impregnable defensive purposes. As a result, the church was destroyed and has not been rebuilt since the Soviet

Endel Laul recounts his father's story of participating in the Battle of Kõnnu and only just escaping execution.

The inhabitants of Liepāja were among the first in Latvia to experience the outbreak of the Second World War and among the last for whom the war ended both literally and symbolically. The Second World War and the Soviet occupation of Liepāja ended only in 1994, when the last troops of the USSR's heir, Russia, left the city.

Memories of a distant wartime flare up. For the older generation, it would remind them of their own experiences, perhaps bored of the young.

At the beginning of 1945, fierce battles are still taking place in the Kurzeme fortress, where Latvians are fighting in the ranks of the German army. One of them was Alfred Riekstiņš in the battle of the 19th division. For his bravery, Riekstiņa is awarded the Knight's Cross and is presented in the Remte Palace. Shortly before the capitulation, he becomes a lieutenant.

The memory of Oskars Kalpaks is preserved in many places - as evidenced by his native Liepsalu houses, a monument in Visagala cemetery, memorial events and beautiful concerts on March 6, Meirāni Kalpaks Primary School, streets in Lubāna, Madona and other cities and more. But in this article - about the preservation of the memory of Oscar Kalpaks in his native half of the 20th-30th centuries. years.

Border guards have had a special way of finding out about strangers in the border area.

More than 70 years ago, Lithuanian coastguards were executed for helping their neighbours, Latvian boat refugees, to reach Sweden. When the German occupation authorities found out about this, they brutally

Pēteris Čevera - national partisan and commander of a national partisan group

Memories of a soldier who served in the battery

The area of the last Liv villages on the northwest coast of Latvia has been systematically destroyed by the Council since 1950 and declared a restricted area. In 12 fishing villages, only a small handful of this nation survived, which is currently experiencing a kind of cultural renaissance.

Donāts Pudulis was a sergeant of Liepaja Military Port Commandant's Office, who received the Order of the Battle of the Battle of the Bulge for bravery and valour on 14 November 1919, when after the enemy attacked Redāns Fort, he took over the command of the commandant's company from the mortally wounded Lieutenant Commander Robert Radziņš and in a swift counterattack drove the enemy out of the fort, taking 8 prisoners and 2 working machine guns. His life up to the Battle of Liepaja is interesting. He volunteered for the Siberian Rifle Regiment in 1911 at the age of 16. In 1914 he took part in the battles against the German army at Warsaw, Lodz and elsewhere on the Polish front, and later in the battles against the Austrian army. In 1915 he sailed to France via Vladivostok as part of the Russian Expeditionary Corps and fought for 4 months at Verdun. At the beginning of 1917 he joined the Latvian Rifle Regiments, and on 7 April 1919 - the Latvian Armed Forces in Liepaja.

"Propusk" or permission to cross the border area was as mandatory as a bus ticket.

The repository of cultural history and regional research materials of the lake "Muitas nams" has been established in a historically important building. On May 8, 1945, the act of capitulation of the units of the Nazi German army surrounded on the Kurzeme front was signed here.

Jānis Miesnieks (b. 1930), a former resident of Ezer, shares his memories about the events of that day.

About times in the border regime area.

The Soviet occupation was followed by the German occupation. The Nazis committed crimes against the people of Latvia. One such ethnic group was the Jews. Initially, ghettos were established, but then the extermination of the Jews followed. Many Latvians saved Jews from extermination. One of them is Jean Lipke.

During the Soviet era, the concrete cargo ship Lady Cotlin crashed here in the military zone, the remains of which can still be seen at sea near the shore. Various myths are still associated with this.

During the wars, various methods were used to deceive the enemy. False navigational signs were created to deceive ships at sea, one of which may have been at the Slītere lighthouse

The description vividly describes the extent to which a place of remembrance is politicized and its role in the ideology of the Soviet Union. The text states that one of the main goals is to fight the "rebirth of fascism". This shows that efforts with ideological infrastructure to hide communist crimes and prevent dissent are continuing. Memorial sites, Soviet army cemeteries and museums, and various cultural events maintained the myth of the "liberation of Latvia" and the "Brother Soviet Union." An inverted view of the events of World War II in Latvia was created using the facts of Nazi crimes.

An incredible story about how the Chekists "surrendered" in front of the last partisan group in Vidzeme, asking them to come out of the forest.

P. Chevers gathered former officers of the legion around him, and also welcomed the local residents of Kurzeme into the group. They all chose to remain faithful to the idea of a free and independent Latvian state, rather than submit to a foreign occupation. Chever's group deployed in the territory of Vandzene - Upesgriva - Okte parishes of Talsi district, trying to avoid frontal clashes with Czech troops or fighter battalion fighters

In today's Latvia, the collections of various museums are supplemented by the personal collections of private individuals, which are often exhibited in public and are accessible to everyone. Many people's hobbies are ancient things, including items related to military history. Visitors often do not have an idea of the origin of these things. They suddenly appeared? In all cases, it's several years of work and an interesting, personal story about one person's interests in putting things together to make a museum out of them, for example. The narrator describes his personal experience, giving the reader an idea of the situation in Latvia after World War II. The legacy of various armies and the lack of raw materials on the farm are forcing people to find creative ways to use virtually anything to survive. Over time, the useless on the farm become valuable, historical exhibits that tell about the experience of Latvia and its people.

The recommendations mentioned in the regulations for the training of cyclists are provided during the training of cyclists in the Latvian Army. The recommendations focus mainly on the health of the soldier.

A small military relic can testify to an extensive historical story. And although the badge represents the events that took place during the Russo-Japanese War, it shows the variegated military history and the involvement of our Latvian riflemen in other military conflicts both before and after the Wars of Independence.

The Germans also landed in the southeastern part of Saaremaa from the mainland to the coast of Muhu in 1941 with an extensive sea landing.

Memories of former employees of Slītere State Reserve about Soviet times.

Atmiņu stāsta izvilkums no ģenerāļa Jāņa Baloža uzrunas Sudrabkalniņa pieminekļa atklāšanas dienā. Pilnā tekstā ir atstāsts par atklāšanas pasākuma norisi, Valsts prezidenta Kārļa Ulmaņa un ģenerāļa Jāņa Baloža uzrunas. Atmiņas izvēlētas, jo spilgti parāda to kādā stāvoklī bija Latvijas armija, kura cīnās Sudrabkalniņa apkaimē.

The main task of the royal railways in the area of the Partridge Strait was to provide the coastal defense positions of the German army with cannons and ammunition.

A memorial sign has been installed for Major Jānis Ozola's division on the side of the Riga-Liepāja highway, in Džukste parish, about one kilometer away from the Kurzeme backwaters of the memorial site.

Major Jānis Ozols was a Latvian officer, participant of the 2nd World War, knight of the Order of the Three Stars, whose artillery division he commanded prevented the front from breaking during the 3rd Battle of Kurzeme.

In the fall of 2011, I received the memories of Jūlij Bērziņš (1900–after 1963), a Latvian living in Russia, a former soldier of the 201st (43rd Guards) Latvian Rifle Division of the Red Army (hereinafter - 201st Latvian Rifle Division; Division) - in two notebooks with a 189-page handwritten Russian story of a Latvian soldier about his experiences in the German-USSR war (1941-1945). These memories were also not commissioned work.

In July 2019, the Soldiers' Search Team "Leģenda" exhumed 66 soldiers' ashes in a forest in Blīdene parish. Due to superficiality or omission during the Soviet era, the majority of these soldiers are counted as officially reburied during the Soviet years. The names of these soldiers are even engraved on the tombstones in the Tuški Brethren Cemetery.

Excerpts from local history enthusiast Aivars Vilnius tell about history and its evidence found in Lode and Liepa, now in Cēsi county.

Sūpe swamp is connected with the places of guerrilla settlements and fighting, which have developed in the interaction of people and places. This is described in the ballad of the Latvian exile Albert Eglītis about the events in his homeland in Sūpe mire "Moss and mud" - a tribute to the partisans of Sūpe mire:

For more than twenty years, the seaside of Liepāja has been dangerous due to fake amber, which the sea tends to wash away from its depths especially during spring and autumn storms.

Today, in Soviet times, army destroyers stood in barely visible, overgrown hangars on the highway to Tukums. Even in those days, the airfield with hangars was disguised and ignorant people did not know about it.

A biographical story written by Valentina Lasmanes about how she managed to escape from detention during the German occupation

Alfred Brun's story about the German headquarters in the yard of his native house, through which a German soldier guided Alfred blindfolded under the cover of night, not knowing that these houses were his own and that Alfred knew every stone in the yard even blindfolded

There was a military complex in Akmeņrags during the Soviet era.

The narrators describe the moods and personal experiences of the Barricade period. Memories illustrate well how information can reach the people of Latvia throughout its territory.

The creation of the Latvian national flag took place during the First World War. In 1915, when creating the flags of the Latvian Rifle Battalion, some artists offered red-white-red colors for the flag cast. After the teacher and journalist Jānis Lapiņš threw the red-white-red flag in the second half of 1916, it was made by his student, Marianna Straumane, a teacher at the Valmiera Refugee Shelter. It is the first known and actually made Latvian national flag, which has also survived to this day.

Raadi military airfield in Tartu was the target of a US nuclear attack during the Cold War.

Cēsis New Castle was built on a military fortification - the ruins of a medieval castle. However, this is by no means the only military significance of the building.

As the time of change approached in Latvia, the coast guard became more friendly.

After the restoration of Latvia's independence, Uldis Veldre, the head of the department of the Alūksne Brothers' Cemetery Committee, took care of the maintenance of the Garrison Cemetery, the identification of the LKOK-related resting places related to Alūksne and the installation of memorials in the Garrison Cemetery.

People's memory is sometimes quite short. Now that everyone can go and go wherever they want, many cry for the lost cheap sausage, but have already forgotten that right behind Mērsrags, a striped boom and armed Russian soldiers, called border guards, often landed in front of the road, were passed only with written and stamped props. And not every inhabitant of the Latvian SSR could receive a permit, but only one who had first received a so-called invitation from the Roja or Kolka village council, on the basis of which he could (or could not) receive a visa to enter his militia in ten days. in the restricted border area. I had bought a house on this unfortunate coast of Kurzeme, so every spring I and my family members also had to pray and land so that the authorities would renew the entry permit.

The Battle of Avinurme and the bloodshed by the Soviet military.

On the night of January 15, the Kalpaka Battalion won the first battle near Lielauce, beating the red attack. It was the first significant battle of the Kalpaka Battalion, when the victory gave the soldiers a particularly strong moral impetus.

After successfully repelling an enemy attack, the commander of the armed train A.Klestrov falls and Colonel Danker issued the grounds for the award

By the time the Germans retreated in 1944, many important sites had been blown up and it was very difficult to prevent, but there are also stories of miraculous events where the courage of the locals and the tolerance of a soldier allow salmon to survive in places important to the locals. One of the stories is also about a discussion between a housewife and a German soldier who saved an entire bridge from being blown up.

During the Soviet era, marriages were registered in the Civil Registry Office in Kingissep.

Lawyer Jānis Sūna has published his memories of his time in the Grieze filtration camp in his autobiographical book.

The memories of the former airman Alfred Leja from the book "Forever a never-ending stream is raining".

Aizvīki and the inhabitants of Aizvīki also suffered a lot in the mills of the superpowers of the 2nd World War.

Alfred Leja writes in his memoirs:

One of the little-known works of the sculptor Kārlis Zāle (1888-1942) is a sculpture made of limestone "Roses Roses", which was created between 1939 and 1940 and is related to the creation of the Brothers' Cemetery Ensemble.

The order of the Army Group “Kurland” is: "Build and build!" It is a task for every soldier of the front of the rear services. Which is best marked by the word: "Digging is better than burrial!"

On June 23, Estonians celebrate Victory Day, thus celebrating the joint Latvian-Estonian victory in the battles of Cēsis. And in this victory the Estonian navy played an important role, which in this Landeswehr war, as the Estonians call it, with its courageous actions and precise cannon fire in the mouth of the Daugava threatened the main supply routes of German forces across the Daugava in the immediate vicinity of Riga.

Domicella Pundure is 90. At Riga Castle on May 3, 2018, she received the Order of Viesturs from the hands of President Raimonds Vejonis for special merits in the national resistance movement and in defending the country's independence. Domicella Pundure remains the last witness to the battle of Stompaku bog.

The former director of the Pampāli school (until 1959) Alfred Brūns has hand-printed an impressive book about the history of the Pampāli school and historical events around it with authentic photographs. In the book, A. Brūns describes the events of the War of Independence in Pampāli, describing in detail the events involved both Latvian statesmen, Bolshevik supporters, actions of the German army, etc.

Latvian riflemen and their officers were informed at the last minute about the start of the battle. Rūdolfs Ivanovs, a non-commissioned officer of the 5th Zemgale Latvian Rifle Regiment, described in the diary the last evening before the start of the battle. A short, but bright and authentic text that shows a very important moment for a soldier - learns about the day of battle.

The Ventspils Military Heritage Site is unique because it is one of the few coastal defence structures in Latvia and the Baltics that depict the history of World War II fortifications. It is also unique in that it is a military object built by the Soviet Union during the years of independence of the Republic of Latvia and in a way symbolises the inability of a small country to confront the superpowers on the eve of World War II. It is the only coastal defence battery that has survived so well, without historical layers and in its complete state of construction. The site shows the entire evolution of the Soviet military concept from 1939 until the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1994.

Latvia and Estonia are choosing new and modern weapons to strengthen their military forces - submarines built in France and Great Britain. Two submarines of the Latvian Navy later did not take part in World War II naval battles, but one of the two Estonian submarines dies, while the surviving Lembit is now on display in the restored seaplane hangars in Tallinn in the museum exposition.

A powerful factory with a rich history starting from 1878.

The Riteli cemetery was actually located in the centre of the target area. The locals could only watch as they were destroyed.

On May 9, 1945, the "Panfilov Division" of the Red Army was near Pampāli. Most likely, the divisional headquarters was located in the Pampāli elementary school

The narrator describes one of the most popular and widely attended events in Latvia - the Aviation Festival in Spilve. Describes the course and scope of the festival. The popularity of aviation in Latvia is emphasized.

Alfons Volgemuth was a 19-year-old boy, a radio operator and served in the army of Nazi Germany.

"No one has come back from this operation and it is not known if there are any survivors. I myself took part in that war as a 19-year-old radio operator and I am one of the 2, later 3 survivors who were taken prisoner by the Russians. I want to reflect the events from my own experience."

In Aivvikai Park, bunkers, trenches and caponier ramparts from the 2nd World War, where weapons were stored, are still clearly visible. One of the types of weapons was the Katyusha rocket launch system.

In the first days of February 2010, a message appeared on the Swedish TV channel SVT, which caused shock and deep surprise to many.

Three fragments of the stories of different people's memories have been deliberately chosen, which allows us to look more closely at the Holocaust crime from different points of view.

Jānis Tilibs' memoirs about the activities of the partisan unit "Tēvijas Vanagi" in Southern Kurzeme until the year 1950

Spending my childhood near the Zvārde target range, under the sounds of explosions and flying jet planes, but still sometimes on weekends I could enter the range. After the departure of the Soviet army, the land was littered with bomb craters and many explosive objects, not only from the time of the landfill, but also from World War II.

On August 22, 1940, 594 ha of land was allocated for the construction of the Soviet military base No. 32 (Undva) on the Tagamõisa peninsula.

The Baltics were one of the most important lines of defense for the Soviet empire, the extreme western bastion, so the concentration of troops here was enormous. It is believed that Latvia was the most militarized territory in the world at that time. The exact number of military personnel is unknown, various sources mention 200,000 to 350,000 at different times. In 50 years alone, 3,009 troops were deployed in more than 700 locations in Latvia. One such place was the USSR army base in Marciena.

The first flag of the Independent Finland was consecrated in 1918 in Liepaja, at the Holy Trinity Church, where the Finnish Jägers took an oath of allegiance to the legitimate government of Independent Finland before going home.

The existence of the independent state of Latvia in 1940 was interrupted by the occupation and annexation by the Soviet Union, or incorporation into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

A list of the material and cost of making the monument.

The story of a protected plant photo in a border guard area.

In 2020, in anticipation of the 30th anniversary of the 1991 barricades, Vismants Priedīte shares a story about the participation of locals in these historical events.

What happened to Lady Kathleen?

The essays of the book "Latvian Army Commanders" convince that history is significantly influenced by specific people. Although at the epicenter of the most important historical events for a short time, the true Latvian patriots, with their rich military experience, managed to accomplish a lot in the formation and strengthening of the Latvian army and the turn of historical events.
This story is about the first commander-in-chief of the Latvian army, David Simanson (1859-1933).

According to Major Sulev Truuväärt of the Missile Forces, an anti-aircraft missile from the Oriküla division was launched by accident in 1967.

Robert Ancans (11 November 1919 - 1 January 1982) was an officer of the Latvian Legion, Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, who took part in the battles of Pilsblidene on 16 and 17 March 1945. The Sixth Kurland Battle is now in its fourth day. Anzāns had served in the Pilsblidene area and therefore knew the area well. Anzans' division is again diverted by another break in the front - an 8km deep invasion by the Red Army. Anzán is wounded in these battles.

In order to protect the Kurzeme coast from a possible Soviet or even Western Allied attack, the German armed forces deployed radar stations in several locations, which allowed for a much earlier identification of enemy air activity. One of them was installed at Jūrkalne

The heroic actions of the fallen officer of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps of the Red Army, Jakob Kundera, ensured the successful attack of the battalion, but he himself was killed and a monument is dedicated to Jakob Kundera at the place of his fall and a monument has been erected at the Tušku Brethren Cemetery.

General K. Goppers (1876-1941) was an outstanding soldier and an outstanding man. He stood out as a successful commander who took over the command of the battalion and regiments, heroically leading his riflemen in battles for the freedom of Latvia during the First World War (1914-1919). He has participated in battles in Tīreļpurvs, Ložmetējkalns, and defended Riga.

After the outbreak of the war in the summer of 1941, the Red Soldiers were forbidden to communicate with the locals in Abruka.

The families of the guerrilla supporters were deprived of their children. In March 1943, there were 1,100 children in the Salaspils camp. About 250 children died due to measles, typhoid and other diseases, several hundred children were transferred to the farms of the surrounding parishes, about 300 children ended up in orphanages in Riga's Jurmala, Igate and Saulkrasti.
In Saulkrasti, the children ended up in the children's colony "Rūķīši" of the Latvian Children's Aid Society.

On April 15, 1920, in a wooded area on the Lubāna - Dzelzava highway, an assassination attempt was made against Kārlis Ulmanis, who was the Prime Minister of Latvia at the time. A memorial plaque was erected on this place between the border of Dzelzava and Indrāni parishes on August 11, 1939.

During the Soviet era, the entire Kurzeme coast was a closed zone. Children who lived near the Soviet army unit in Targale parish, including Ovishi, used to have fun throwing stones at tanks.

Kolka resident Valija Laukšteine's memories of the times in Kolka when there were border guards.

In 1945, there was a Red Army observation post near Kaulači half-manor. Eyewitnesses recalled that fighting broke out in March 1945. This is not the first time that World War II-era graves have been found in this field.

During the Second World War, when the armies retreated, a large part of the militarily and logistically important objects in Latvia were blown up, so that these resources would not remain with the current opponents. Such objects were also in the vicinity of Ķegums, where one of the most important objects is the Ķegums HPP, which, however, was not completely destroyed due to the efforts and efforts of its employees.

An article in a newspaper vividly demonstrates the situation in modern Latvia, when environmental objects glorifying the Soviet occupation army have been preserved and even restored in many places (often at the expense of the municipality). The indecision of power and the lack of will create long-lasting, confrontational situations in society. The various monuments, memorials and environmental objects are not perceived as places of history or memorial, but as instruments that continue the ideology of the Soviet occupation regime.

Knight of the Knight's Cross in the battles of occupation of Hiiumaa

Ülo Raidma, a member of the student resistance organization Sini-Must-Valge, recalls the time spent in his cells.

With the departure of the Soviet occupation forces, the looting of many former war bases began. Soviet soldiers tried to take out as much as possible and leave the degraded infrastructure. After the departure of the troops, these bases continued to be looted by civilians and to exploit former military infrastructure.

The narrator describes the first impressions of getting to the Corner House. Memories reveal the harsh living conditions of the prisoners.

1945/46. Misiņa's group spent the winter of 2011 in the Dzelzkalni area of Zūru forest, where several bunkers had been built. About 40 partisans stayed here. On February 23, 1946, the camp was surrounded by the internal affairs troops of the USSR and a fierce battle took place

The victory in the battles of Cēsis was destined to become a turning point in the struggle of Latvians and Estonians for the independence of their country. This victory crossed the line between Andriev Niedra's government and German General Riediger von der Goltz's plans to conquer the Baltics. Instead, the Provisional Government of Kārlis Ulmanis resumed its activities in Liepāja.

During the USSR, border guards observed and controlled the waters of the Irbe Strait from this tower, and at that time it was often said that even a duck could not swim through this strait without the knowledge of the border guards.

Imants Upner's memories of the Soviet era.

Kurzeme emerged as a separate and distinct battlefield on 10 October 1944. Some 500 000 German troops were counted as surrounded. According to reports from the 1st Baltic Front Headquarters, only a "small effort" was needed to completely liberate the entire Baltic coast. However, the fighting in Kurland continued for another seven months and Kurland became a symbol of the end of the Second World War. 

During the seven months of fighting until May 1945, German forces in Courland lost 154 108 soldiers killed, wounded and missing. Since 1997, a war cemetery survey and reburial of soldiers near Saldus has been carried out and currently 27,000 names of fallen soldiers can be found here

It was in the Akmensrags lighthouse area that on January 13, 1923, a steamer Saratov ran aground and crashed, on which the interim government, led by K. Ulmanis, took refuge, when the independent state of Latvia became independent.

The bombing of Rēzekne took place at Easter 1944, and as a result a large part of the city's buildings were destroyed and dozens of civilians were killed, while several thousand more were left homeless. People who have experienced these events on their own skin and can tell us about them were children at the time. One of them is also the author of this story.

Felker (German: Völcker) was a 20-year-old boy, serving in an intelligence division in the Nazi German army, who narrates the events of November 8 and 9, which vividly reflect the frontline events in Zvārde, where the frontline moved back and forth for 4 months, including in the vicinity of the Ķērkliņi church.

Cold War intelligence and counterintelligence battles between the West and the USSR involved agents from both sides and double agents. Since the twenties of the 20th century, the Soviet security services had developed a completely new measure - disinformation - for the purpose of protecting the regime. A term which until then was not known at all in the West.

In 1918, when German troops entered Alūksne, Latvian rifle battalions retreated to Soviet Russia. Until the beginning of December 1918, the German regime was established and reorganized. After Germany succumbed to the war, the Bolsheviks returned to Aluksne and regained power. During the Latvian War of Independence, Finnish volunteers also fought in the Estonian army. On February 21, 1919, fierce battles took place between the Bolsheviks and the Finnish Volunteer Regiment "Northern Boys" in Aluksne, near the station.

In the dark of October 8, advanced and retreating German troops met at the village of Tehumardi.

In 1915, when German troops entered the territory of Latvia, the first phase of the war was characterized by a war of maneuvers. In the fall of 1915, when the front stabilized at the natural obstacle Daugava, a war of positions began, which lasted for two years - until the fall of 1917, when the German army, taking advantage of the changes of the Revolution in the Russian Empire and the demoralization and collapse of the Russian army, went on the offensive.

On June 20, 1919, in the Naukšēni manor, near Rūjiena, the formation of the 7th Sigulda Infantry Regiment was started, according to the order of the Commander of the Northern Latvia Brigade, Colonel Jorgs Zemitans. Initially, a small battle group of 22 officers and 1,580 soldiers was formed from the Northern Latvian Brigade Reserve Battalion, which was named the Danker Division in honor of its first commander, Oskars Dankers. A few days later, the unit was included in the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Jelgava Regiment, but on August 23, adding to the number of jewelry - in the 7th Sigulda Infantry Regiment.

Mirdza Stankevica, a resident of Kolka, tells her memories of the times when she was a laundry.

The world-famous Soviet and Russian handgun engineer visited Saaremaa.

In the northern part of the fortress was located one of the four coastal defence batteries, Battery No.1, but at the time of the fortress's liquidation its armament was not fully installed.

Memories vividly describe the daily life of soldiers on the Island of Death.

In February 1919, both sides of the Venta River were active in reconnaissance activities. Captain Alexander Loeving, Chief of the Cavalry Division, was one of the commanders of the reconnaissance raids.

Harijs Liepiņš, a later popular actor, was drafted into the German army and sent to Ķegums in the autumn of 1944.

On September 16, 1941, in connection with the successful invasion of German forces in Muhu and Saaremaa, the construction of a line of defense was started in the area between the villages of Lõpe –Teesü –Kaimri.

Gunta Kārkliņa's memories of the Soviet times on the Liv coast - how did the boat cemetery appear there?

One of the most striking stories about the birth of the peace of Tartu is how young soldiers were made to march around the city in the winter of 1919/1920. It probably started with the failure of the border negotiations. estap Colonel Viktor Puskar, Commander of the Second Division, ordered the Tartu School Students' Battalion to march around the city in such a way as to repeatedly pass from Aia (now Vanemuise) Street near the conference house as well as Veski Street, where the Russian delegation stopped

The use of the landfill continued until 1992, and even in March 1992, a plane that took off from Lielvārde crashed in the territory of the landfill for unknown reasons.

On December 1, 1918, parts of the Red Army, based on the Red Rifle units, invaded the territory of Latvia. In order to protect their homes, families, native counties and escape from terror, the men around Balvi took up arms and went into the forests, and the first "green" groups began to form. In the spring of 1919, when the mobilization was announced, many men in the Balvi area were not allowed to fight in the Soviet Latvian army and they joined the "green" groups. Balvi, Silakrog, Rugāji, Teteru-Dūrupe and Liepna groups were formed. In the vicinity of Balvi, the activity of "green" groups became more active in March 1919.

Various objects belonging to former soldiers are often found at the site of the Grieze filtration camp and along the roads leading to it. Soldiers, arrested civilians, prisoners of war, etc. disposed of them for various reasons, both to avoid being identified and to avoid being subjected to "special attention".

Captain Pēteri Čevera and seven other partisans were captured on November 1, 1950 in the Engure forest massif, where the group of fake partisans of former legion lieutenant Arvīdas Gailīš (the agent-fighter's nickname was "Grosbergs") had stationed themselves by chance. It included operatives of the LPSR VDM and agent-militants who played the role of "forest brothers".

In March 1917, more than a year before the proclamation of the State of Latvia, the Vidzeme Provisional Land Council was founded in Valmiera, which adopted a resolution on Latvia's right to autonomy and self-determination. On the day of the founding of the Council, a red-white-red flag was raised at the meeting place for the first time.

It will be difficult for young people and foreigners inexperienced in Soviet times to believe that it was practically impossible for a Soviet citizen to get out of the USSR legally.

The border guard tower is hidden in the last pines of the Cape of Kolka, where the border guard post was constantly located during the USSR and the small masonry wall next to it is now abandoned and destroying destiny.

Numerous stories of machinery sinking in swamps and lakes have survived in Latvia. Few of them are true.

I remember vivid impressions about the presence of the Latvian army in Mangalsala. The forts as well as the reinforced concrete fortification built by Sapieri are described. Memories describe the daily life of soldiers, the rhythm of life and illustrate the environment in Mangalsala. Visit of soldiers of Mangalsala and Latvian army

The Kurzeme fortress was formed after the fall of Riga on October 13, 1944 and the Russian break-up to Klaipeda on October 10, thus stopping traffic with Germany by road.

Jānis Jaunozoliņš. "Memories from the Diary Left Abroad" (August 16, 1944-13.10.1946) Excerpts.

A sharp event from the life of Vilnis Blumbergs, when coming to Mazirbe to visit his aunt, turned into an unpleasant misunderstanding with the soviet border guards and a harsh night in the winter

Before the First World War, 2552 thousand people lived in the territory of Latvia. people. The 1920 census registered 1,596 thousand people. people. This means that during this period the population of Latvia had decreased by 956 thousand. people or by 37.5%.
In the summer of 1915, German troops occupied Kurzeme and Zemgale. More than half a million refugees fled their homelands in an endless stream. The first refugees arrived in Cēsis in April 1915.

Lugu baski päritolu lendurist Benito Aguirrest (korrektse nimega Ignacio Aguirregoicoa Benito), kes Mustvee kohal alla tulistati.

Colonel Oskars Kalpaks won the respect of his soldiers by his personal example and encouragement.

The German armed forces deployed radar stations in several locations, which allowed much earlier identification of enemy aviation activity in the Kurzeme area.

The first flights in the Estonian sky - a pilot over Utotškin Raad in 1912.

Description of the Battle of Reola in January 1919, considered one of the turning points of the War of Independence, during which the Estonian troops thwarted the Red Army's attempt to conquer Tartu.

The monument to the Mustjala War of Independence was a memorial stone during the Republic of Estonia.

Division Commander Captain Jānis Ozols 27.12.1944. in the report to the commander of the 15th (1st Latvian) SS-art. regiment about the losses of the weapons of the 7th, 8th and 9th batteries in the battles from December 24-25 in Zvejnieku - Dirba district

Tukums airfield keeps a secret that no one has solved yet - is there really a nuclear missile warhead in the territory of the airfield, which is ordered there by the special service of the Russian army, I left the airfield in the 90s?

Aizporu Half Manor, Aizpute district, Kalvene municipality, is the westernmost place in Latvia to which Colonel Oskars Kalpaks' separate battalion retreated.

Halfway between Rudbārži and Kalvenė, on the side of the road, is the Aizpore cemetery. There is a monument and 12 memorials to the volunteer soldiers of Oskars Kalpaka's battalion.

After the Second World War, the land of Latvia was full of the physical remnants of the war. It was a large number of rounds, unexploded ordnance and simple cartridges. Even today, especially in places where there has been active warfare, unexploded ordnance is found, which is very rare, while in the post-war years these charges in the forests and even in the courtyards were the everyday life of the inhabitants and even children's toys.

Leonid Zariņš was recruited as a CIA agent in the USA and in 1953 he crossed the border of the USSR on a plane from Germany and landed with a parachute near Auce. Unfortunately, one of the contacts he was supposed to be in touch with had turned out to be a double agent, and Leonidas was soon arrested. He refused to cooperate with the Chekists and was shot without trial in 1954.

The narrator describes his impressions of the battles around Lestene and the role of the Latvian 19th Division in the battles.

At the time of the creation of the Riga Central Market, it was one of the most modern markets in the world. It was based on the metal construction of the hangars of the German army airships of the First World War. The author describes the preconditions for the construction of the Riga Central Market and the scope of construction works, making it one of the largest buildings after the war in Latvia and one of the most modern markets in the world.

The story of the demolition of the victory altar of the War of Independence in Aidu and the history of its remains.

At the end of World War II, the 6th Battery of the German Naval 532nd Artillery Division was stationed in Melnsil, but the Red Army had its own plans for the area, which were never realised until the surrender of the German army in May 1945.

At the end of World War II, the German forces in Courland were able to successfully defend themselves for seven months, as the German Navy maintained combat capability until the end of World War II and supplied Army Group North and later Army Group Courland. The main port was Liepaja, through which 80% of all cargo was delivered and shipped. Liepaja thus became an important target for the Soviet Baltic Navy and long-range aviation.

Memories of Biruta Freimane, a resident of Kolka, about the border area.

A small excerpt from an interview with Erika Sēni from Ģipka. He shares his memories of his life.

During the Soviet era, there was a helicopter base in the southwestern part of Spilve Airport. It could be well seen from the nearby Kleistu forest dunes, as well as from the Riga-Bolderāja railway branch, which led to the Riga varnish and paint factory.

One of the important places of relocation was near the "Pāž" houses, where the "Sail of Hope" monument is now installed. "Boats came regularly and the most people left from "Pāži"", says I. Freiberg's memories.

From 1944 to 1946, Peter Supem managed to unite the national partisan units scattered in the forests in an organized movement that fought against the occupation of Latvia in the Abrene district for several years after the Second World War. Pēteris Supe, nicknamed "Cinītis", was one of the most outstanding organizers and leaders of the national guerrilla movement in Northern Latgale.

On 25 March 1949, the second major wave of deportation from the Baltic Republics took place. In Estonia almost 21 000 people (7,500 families) were sent to Siberia. The story is about the family in Valga county.

At the beginning of 1992, two Soviet Mig-27 D planes crashed on one day in mysterious circumstances with an interval of 40 minutes in Ledurga and Zvārde landfill.

In the spring and summer of 1915, German troops occupied Kurzeme and Zemgale. The troops of the warring parties were stationed on the banks of the Daugava. Vidzeme became a frontline territory, but Cēsis became a frontline city, in the vicinity of which the 12th Army Headquarters of the Northern Front of the Tsarist Russian Army was located, which moved to Birkenruh bei Wenden .

The narrator describes an event in the Daugavgrīva fortress during World War I, when it was bombed by an air force in the German army. The fortress was one of the strategic objects that remained important until the end of World War II.

When the Russians tried to force a military base agreement from the Latvian government in 1940, which would make the Latvian army's resistance to the Red Army almost impossible, General J. Balodis tries to get some amendments to this agreement. But it fails. But the general's bad guys use this circumstance to later correct J. Balodi almost as a traitor. After a conflict with the Prime Minister of the State and Prime Minister K. Ulmanis, on April 5, 1940, the General was relieved of the post of Minister of War. Then J. Balodis decides to participate in the Saeima elections from the Democratic Bloc, but nothing comes out of it, because only one list may stand for election - the list of communist candidates. Latvia becomes the 14th Soviet republic.

The narrator describes Kārlis Zali as a personality who created the most famous works of Latvian art. The description is dedicated to the commemoration of the hall in 1942 (the year of K. Hall's death). The memories have been chosen to describe K. Zāle's works based on the author's personal qualities and perception of the world.

On 31 October 1944, the boat "Centība" left the Kurzeme coast. The departure of this boat was reconstructed by Valentīne Lasmane, the Convener of the Latvian Central Council, from the recollections of several fellow passengers

The parts of the boiler plate lighthouse produced in the factory were transported by Ruhnu ship.

After regaining independence, the residents of Dundaga installed a large wooden star of David at the place of the murder and reburial of the Jews near the Mazirbe - Dundaga highway, and later the Council of Jewish Congregations and Communities of Latvia opened a memorial stone next to it.

Edgars Hausmanis tells about life on the shores of the Baltic Sea at different times. Edgar has something to remember, we have something to learn.

Sõru 1917

Former commander of the guard Aivars Skurstenis has applied for an open conversation to the Tukums district newspaper "Neatkarīgās Tukuma Ziņas". He was once a reserve officer and a front-line bodyguard, who in 1993 was offered a guard position in the agricultural company "Durbe" headed by Laimonis Mucenieks. The office - Līvāni house - had to be guarded there. That is the beginning of the story.

The memories reflect the daily life of Latvian riflemen in the Olaine area. Not only the living conditions are described, but also the usual task - intelligence of the opponent's positions.

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

Historian Roberts Sipenieks talks about the finds at the site of the Grieze filtration camp

Andris Zaļkalns (born 1951, Chairman of the Vērgale Village Council of People's Deputies (1982-1989)) recalls the time when a nuclear power plant was almost built in Akmeņrags.

One of the main challenges for the units of the 1st Latvian Separate Battalion was to cross the frozen river Venta and build a road across it.

Colonel Kalpaks was a respected figure in military circles and a true patriot. It was the spirit of patriotism and an unfortunate coincidence that led to the fatal clash between him and the German battalions, which unfortunately ended with the death of Colonel Kalpaks.

Even when viewed from Kuressaare, the military unit of Maantee village was located almost at the end of the world.

On 7 March 1945, the "Red Arrows" partisan camp was surrounded and attempted to be destroyed by German troops. Vilis Samsons, in his book published in 1974 by "Zinātne", Riga, describes the course of this battle

The Battle of Mores is an episode of the end of the Second World War, which was of great importance in the further course of the war in the territory of Latvia. The Battle of Mores marks the war in the Sigulda line of defense in the territory of Mores Parish, which took place from September 25 to October 5, 1944. In the trenches of the Sigulda line of defense, about 12 km long, the soldiers of the 19th Division of the Latvian Legion, fighting heavy battles with 10 to 15 times the enemy's defeat for 10 days, stopped the Red / Soviet army units moving towards Riga.

The documentation of the German army group "Ziemeļi", which is later renamed "Kurland" during the siege of Kurzeme, still contains no clear information about approximately 50,000 German army soldiers. These soldiers are missing in action. Even today, the relatives of these soldiers are trying to find traces of their relatives and ancestors in Kurzeme, both documentary and physical. One such story is about

July 1976 military-patriotic games "Orlenok" at the tank training ground near Irbene, in which 17-year-old Evalds Krieviņš participated and secretly photographed the games, equipment and even the Irbene antenna with a Sme8M camera

During the Cold War, the entire Kurzeme coastline was a closed zone to the public - Soviet border guards were the main decision-makers here, with guard posts at certain distances and observation towers with spotlight stations on the beach. Civilians were only allowed on the seafront during daylight hours.

The residents of Pāvilosta Aina Jakovļeva and Irina Kurčanova share their memories of the Soviet times in Pāvilosta.

There were interesting incidents in Soviet times with the name and geographical location of "Krasnoflotskaya"

The narrator describes the conditions under which the War Museum was established. Problems and collection work are mentioned.

Cīrava airfield - created during the Second World War, used by the Soviets as a DOSAAF airfield, currently used for agricultural purposes and recreational trips, as well as Soviet-era aircraft on display in the hangar

About the Battle of Rannu and its connections with the work "Names on a Marble Slab".

Memories of Andris Zaļkalns, Chairman of the Vērgale Village Council of People's Deputies (1982-1989), about life in the border area.

The events of the war began on the islands on September 29, 1917, when the German army landed in Saaremaa near Tagalahti.

While performing the duties of a botanist, it was allowed to walk along the shore only with a border guard.

During the First World War, a monument in the form of a woman was created by the German army

In June 1941, the successful attack of the German army had reached Liepaja, when Liepaja was attacked by the 291st Infantry Division of the German Armored Forces. When hostilities between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union began in June 1941, the Liepaja garrison of the Soviet Army consisted of troops from the Liepaja naval base of the Navy and the Red Army. During these battles Major General N.Dedaev was mortally wounded

The fate of the legendary battery commander, Alexander Stebel, is overshadowed by a veil of mystery.

The Kogula Air Force Base was established in August 1940.

Between the two world wars, Estonia's own armored cars were made at the Arsenal military factory. One copy of them is in the Jõgewa Military Museum.

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.

The use of carrier pigeons or carrier pigeons was a widely used means of communication in the early 20th century.

The history of Finnish Jaegers is interesting because it is extremely similar to the fate of Latvian soldiers in World War I and its great role in the formation of the nation state. For the Finns, World War I also provided an opportunity to lay the foundations for Finland's independence and the creation of its army. The source describes an event when a monument to Finnish Jaegers is unveiled in Latvia.

As early as 1907, Russia began to prepare for the development of pre-defense positions in its capital, St. Petersburg.

As German forces rapidly approached Tallinn, an ambitious Tallinn evacuation naval operation took place. During this time, many ships and their crews, along with people on board, were killed in minefields and from aviation attacks or shore artillery fire.

When the troops occupied the area, it was not always possible to find out the name of the specific houses, skrajciems or sajja. The local population had been evacuated and there was no one to ask, so Germans tend to give places their own names. The story of the house in Wilischki has been preserved. In his memoirs, the commander of the pioneer company, vice-feldfebel Koch, who had attended the reserve officers' course, writes that one of the artillery units was stationed near the house.

On February 23, 1919, an intelligence unit of the Finnish Volunteer Regiment "Northern Boys", hoping to obtain additional armaments and ammunition, reached the cliff of the river Beja School, where a collision with the Bolsheviks took place (Battle of Babeckas). 10 soldiers of the Finnish regiment fell in this battle.

Pieta, or Mammy, is a well-known motif in European culture and art, and was also used in Soviet times.

It is said that war is the father of all things, and this has literally been the case with Latvian rural gauge railways. Any army, whether it is attacking or defending, needs sufficient resources to ensure warfare. When the German army entered the territory of Latvia in 1915, it faced supply challenges. At the end of 1915, the front had stabilized along the Daugava line. Historically, there was a low population density in the territory of Selia, so there was not a wide network of traffic roads.

In the time of the USSR, border guard patrol vessels were based in the port of Ventspils, the task of which was to patrol the waters of the Baltic Sea and prevent the crossing of the border from either side - from the outside inwards or from the inside out. However, in the 1970s, one emergency occurred in Ventspils, about which the people of Ventspils themselves whispered in the kitchens for a long time and laughed for nothing.

During the Soviet era, there was a strange object north of Spilves Street, if the memory is not wrong - with two low rectangular "mega-chimneys" built of red bricks, from where a reactive sound similar to the roar of aircraft engines was quite often heard.

On 8 November 1975, as was customary in the USSR, Riga hosted another large-scale celebration of the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. Nobody, even in their wildest nightmares, could have imagined that the 58th anniversary of the Revolution would go down in the history of Latvia and the USSR as something unprecedented and unprecedented - a mutiny on board the Storoževoj, a large anti-submarine ship. For 15 years, the USSR denied that a mutiny had taken place on board.

After the last Soviet troops left Latvia in 1993, the Krasnoflotsk or Olmani coastal defence battery also came into the possession of the Latvian National Defence Forces. Soon the orphaned property began to be seized by for-profit prospectors.

The Christmas battle ended on January 11. The Latvian riflemen of the heavily fortified position of the German army - Ložmetējkalns - managed to take the battle on the third day. The price of Christmas battles was very high. Hundreds of Latvian and other Russian army soldiers had lost their lives trying to knock the Germans out of position. The narrator vividly describes the scenes on the battlefield after the end of the Christmas battles.

The repository of cultural history and regional research materials of the lake "Muitas nams" has been established in a historically important building. On May 8, 1945, the act of capitulation of the Nazi German army group "Kurland" surrounded on the Kurzeme front was signed here.

Former Red Army soldier Kārlis Liberts shares his memories of the events of that day

On November 7, 1944, memories of poet Kārļis Skalbe's 65th birthday in Jūrkalne's "Laukgaļi" brought a bright mood to the Latvian refugee settlement on the Kurzeme coast. Just four days later, Kārlis Skalbe went by boat to Sweden as a refugee. It was the day when Kārlis Skalbe celebrated his birthday for the last time.

After the Latvian War of Independence, the great soldier Valija Veščunas was awarded the Lāčplēsis War Order for the November 19, 1919 battles with the Bermontians at the Plan House. Valija Veshchun was one of the first to cross the Lielupe under the fire of the enemy.

The Army of Northern Latvia was a Latvian military formation during the Latvian War of Independence, which was established on the territory of Estonia and in the liberated regions of North Vidzeme from February 3 to March 31, 1919. Until July 1919, the brigade was subordinate to the Estonian Armed Forces Headquarters and the Commander-in-Chief of the Estonian Army in terms of logistics and operations. It was then merged with the Southern Latvian Brigade to form the Latvian Army.

Various scenes of life from the Soviet times, remembered by Gunārs Anševics, once living in the border area.

General Pēteris Radziņš, born in Lugka Parish, Valka District, in a simple farmer's family, where he learned to do field work. He was a very smart young man, after graduating from school he decided in favor of the war and it started his army rescue of Latvia from Bermont's troops. P.Radziņš was one of the most outstanding officers of the Latvian Army and was awarded with numerous Latvian and foreign orders and memorials.

The narrator describes the conditions under which the most famous Latvian memorial dedicated to fallen soldiers was established. As can be seen from the memoirs, the cemetery of folk heroes faced a number of obstacles and disadvantages - not only from the church, but also from the management of the city of Riga.

A story about the moods that prevailed in Tartu and among the students immediately after the statue of Kalevipoeg was taken down in 1950.

The first builders appeared to Ninas in the autumn of 1939.

The story of the German air raid on Vaiņode airfield in June 1941

Baiba Šuvcāne, a resident of Kolka, tells about the times in Kolka when there were border guards.

From the time of the refugees, Valka agreed to play a more important role than other cities in Vidzeme, because the politically active newspaper Līdums was located here, where Latvia's spiritual and political weapons were minted, and also because there was a crossroads where roads from three On the Latvian side: from Riga, Alūksne, Mozekile, and also from Estonia and Russia, she had links with refugees everywhere - in Tartu, Pliskava, Moscow and St. Petersburg. There was a large refugee center here.

Excerpt from a memoir about the surrender of Kurzeme in May 1945, from the memoirs of Air Lance Corporal Edgars Aunins

The description looks at the battlefield fortification in general. It is based on the experience of the First World War and the situation when it is necessary to organize extensive work on the fortifications.

To the north of Ventspils is another significant coastal battery. It was located in Olmani and was called Krasnoflotskaya.

Ghost of Karosta Prison.

At the bridge over the Amata, a German Landeswehr attacks an Estonian armored train that has arrived for negotiations. Estonians open fire, Germans are beaten and the armored train returns to Cēsis.

On May 18, 1916, in the ruins of Ģegeri half-manor (~ 7 km to the south of Jekabpils behind Brody) at At 20.30, soldiers of the 3rd Caucasus Rifle Regiment were shot dead for inciting disobedience. The execution was led by Praporšchik Ravnyalichev.

During the Second World War, when most of Latvia was already controlled by the Soviet Union and Kurzeme was ruled by Hitler's German viceroys, the so-called Kurelians in Kurzeme started the struggle for the restoration of Latvia's state independence.

Evidence of the Second World War is found in the forests of Kurzeme from time to time, because lovers of war relics and historical antiques visit the forests and fields of Kurzeme with metal detectors very often. At the beginning of 2021, various documents were found in an ammunition box buried in the forest on the Remte side of Saldus county, which proved belonging to the 19th division of the Latvian Legion, as well as the soldier's personal belongings. They had been lying in the ground for 76 years.

On 25 March 1949, Elmārs Heniņš, a pupil in Skrunda, witnessed his classmates being taken away. He took his camera and climbed a pine tree on a nearby hill to document what was happening, later hiding the pictures.

On March 27, 1919, the 1st Valmiera Infantry Regiment, together with the Estonian bodyguard Tallinn (then Rēvele) and Tērbata battalions, as well as three armed trains from the banks of the Melnupe, began the liberation of Latvia from the Bolsheviks.

Description of the Battle of Tähtvere in the Estonian War of Independence in January 1919, during which Estonian troops liberated Tartu from the Red Army.

How anti-tank trenches were dug on the Jalaka line to protect against German invasion in the summer of 1941.

The narrator describes his impressions of the beginning of the Riga operation, when the artillery of the German army starts firing on the positions of the Russian army. Describes the chaos that stands out in the Russian army and the mood of Latvian riflemen before the battles.

The Battle of Cēsis is one of the most important stages of the War of Independence of Latvia and occupies an important place in the history of the War of Independence of Estonia.

After the capitulation of Germany and Army Group "Kurland" on May 8 and 9, 1945, the winners celebrated their victory in various ways in many places in Kurzeme. In Remte, during these celebrations, the Remte church was burned down. The church bell ringer's family kept the church bell in their homestead throughout the occupation.

Žanis Skudra donates all his free time to local research, all his vacations to tours of Latvia. This is how materials, photographs were collected, and the "Book of Occupied Latvia Days" was published by the Latvian National Fund in Stockholm under the pseudonym Jānis Dzintars.

On June 7, 1978, Žani Skudra was arrested in Tallinn and in November of the same year, the Supreme Court of Riga sentenced him to twelve years of imprisonment for treason and espionage.

The last fortification lines of the army group "Kurzeme" were located in the vicinity of Krotė and many objects related to the Second World War have been found there.