Submarine marina in Alksnynė
A mysterious object on the Curonian Spit near Alksnynes, supposedly from the Soviet era. It is believed to have been a pier or a stopover for Soviet submarines. Although it is difficult to establish the exact facts today, various memories and associations arise in the minds of the inhabitants of that region.
The website has already described a mysterious object that used to be on the Curonian Spit near Alksnynes. It is considered to be a pier or a stopover for Soviet submarines. Although it is difficult to establish exact facts today, various memories and associations arise in the memory of the inhabitants of that region. A considerable number of them are presented in the publication of "Vakarų ekspres". We will present a few of them.
Many older residents say they saw submarines sailing in the Curonian Lagoon during the Soviet era. One of the witnesses stated:
Usually, one [submarine] would be stationed at the [Alksnynė] pier , while the other would be on duty at sea, guarding the gates of the Klaipėda port. They would change at night, when at least all loading and maneuvering work would be stopped in the fishing port. And the electricity [to the pier] was laid via an underwater cable.
One long-time captain tells us that the marina in Alksnynė had powerful reinforced concrete pontoons:
The deck of the boat was about 1.5 m above the water. I moored a couple of times, I even climbed up. I definitely saw reinforced concrete structures, but the guard who appeared told me to get out of the way. Once, around 1987, when we were getting ready to sail towards Nida, small military boats demanded over the loudspeaker to move away, because a submarine was passing. Immediately, the tower of a small submarine appeared, which was about 2.5 m high, with a hull about a meter above the water. […] I don’t know where those pontoons went. If the Soviet army didn’t take them away, maybe they sank them? It’s hard to say what the purpose of that base in Alksnynė was. Maybe for food supplies or ammunition, to replenish or replace the crew, to wait out storms. While sailing past Liepaja, we often heard a submarine making a huge noise in the sea.
A witness who worked on the barge recalls:
There have been cases of passing over the sides at night. Once a submarine ran aground near Kiaulės Nugaras. It was removed by the port's tugs.
- Denisas Nikitenka, "Submarines raised a chest of memories", in: Vakarų ekspresas, 2024-02-04 (2021-02-02), available online: https://ve.lt/naujienos/ve-rekomendija1/skaityk-dabar/povandeniniai-laivai-iskele-prisiminimu-skrynia-1852512 .
Related objects
Submarine marina in Alksnynė
The coast of the Curonian Lagoon near Alksnynes, on the left side of the Smiltynė–Nida road (KK167) (about 300 m from the parking lot of the Bear's Head observation deck), following the forest path.
The object is more interesting for the myths and legends surrounding it than for what can be seen on site now. In Soviet times, it is not known exactly when and by whose initiative, a pontoon pier about 100 meters long and a wooden bridge connecting it to the shore appeared in the Curonian Lagoon near Alksnyne. This is exactly the structure captured in an aerial photograph from 1995–1999. Not so long ago, there were remains of the aforementioned bridge there, but the pontoon itself has disappeared somewhere. In Soviet times, this place was a closed zone. Armed guards were constantly on duty here, chasing away anyone trying to approach. It was in this place that, around 1960–1961, for unclear reasons, the lagoon fairway was deepened. And local residents say that they saw submarines sailing in the Curonian Lagoon during the Soviet era.
There are speculations about the purpose of this pier: perhaps it was a charging point for small submarines (larger ships could not moor here due to the shallow depth); perhaps it was their intermediate or backup stop; perhaps it was related to the protection of the Klaipėda port gates; or perhaps it was a paratroopers' training ground for training in landing ashore from submarines? It is assumed that it could have been intended for submarines sailing between the ports of Piliava (Baltiysk) and Liepaja to moor when one of these ports was closed due to bad weather conditions. Others believe and explain that usually one submarine was stationed at the pier, while the other was on duty at sea, guarding the Klaipėda port gates. The place is best visited in winter, before the vegetation has withered and the water in the lagoon has not yet risen.
During World War II, the 24th German submarine training flotilla "Memel" was based in nearby Klaipėda (Memel), and submarines were repaired at the Lindenau shipyard in the port city. The old quay with specially designed mooring berths for submarines has survived (south of the Klaipėda cruise ship terminal, in the closed port area).
