Liepāja Sea Fortress I WW1

The longest pier in Latvia - the Northern Pier - was built at the end of the 19th century as a very important part of the Liepaja Sea Fortress and military port. The length of the pier is 1800 metres, the width - 7.35 metres.

The Northern Pier is one of the first port structures of Emperor Alexander III, built between 1890 and 1892 before the excavation of the Karosta Canal. Together with the North Breakwater, the...

The Karosta Prison in Liepāja is the only military prison in Europe open to tourists. Constructed around 1900 for the needs of a hospital, the building was never used for its original purpose. The structure was repurposed as a place for serving temporary disciplinary punishment and was used as such up until 1997.

Powers changed but the purpose of the institution remained the same, namely, to house prisoners, including revolutionaries, sailors and non-commissioned officers of the Russian tsarist army...

The berth of the "Saratov" is located in Liepaja, at 59 Old Harbour, near the boat docks. 

Built in 1888 in Copenhagen by the shipyard Buvmeistar & Wain under the name "Leopold II", in 1911 it was bought by the joint-stock company Russian North-West Shipping and renamed "Saratov", with the Latvian Aleksandrs Remess becoming the ship's captain.

The 6th Battery, which is the best preserved fortification structure today, was planned to protect the coast of Liepaja Fortress south of the Trade Canal. The battery was to house four 6-inch (152 mm) guns of the 1892 model of the Canet system, eight 11-inch (280 mm) guns of the 1887 model, nine mortars of various calibres and two 57 mm Nordenfeld anti-tank guns. At the beginning of the First World War, after the fortress had already been dismantled, Battery 6 still contained the armament used in April 1915, when the German Navy attempted to land a landing at the South Pier.

250 metres south-west of Battery 6 is the Monument to Fishermen and Sailors, with a plaque to the US Navy PB4Y-2 Privateer scout plane shot down off Liepaja on 8 April 1950. The aircraft, nicknamed Turbulent Turtle, was part of Patrol Squadron 26 and took off from Wiesbaden airfield in the early hours of 8 April and, via Copenhagen, set off on a surveillance and possibly radio reconnaissance mission. According to the order, the aircraft could not approach closer than 20 nautical miles to the Kurland coast, but for some unknown reason it flew into the USSR's self-defined 12 nautical mile zone. Two La-11s of the Soviet 30th Guards Fighter Regiment intercepted and shot down the unarmed reconnaissance aircraft. The fate of the 10-strong crew of the...

The South Fort of Liepaja Fortress is located in the south-western part of Liepaja, between Klaipėda Street and the beach.

A fort was planned to protect the port of Emperor Alexander III from the south, two kilometres from the southern border of the city. The fort was to be located between Liepāja Lake and the sea, west of the outlet of the Thunder River, reinforcing the reinforced concrete fortifications with a moat. Although the fortifications were almost completely finished, the armaments had not been...

Redans, or Redana Fort, is located in Karosta, 14. novembra Street, about 1.5 km from the Northern Forts, in the nature reserve "Tosmare".

Historically, redans were elements of fortifications where longer sections of fortress walls were divided into shorter sections by building V-shaped positions facing the enemy, which allowed for better protection of the fortification wall. Karostas Redan is a late 19th century Liepaja Sea Fortress, projecting towards Lake Tosmare. As the fortress lost its fortress role, the fortifications and...

The former naval pigeon station No.2 - actually a breeding station - is located in Karosta, Pulkveža Brieža iela 6. It was built between 1899 and 1900 and was intended to house about 450 carrier pigeons - winged soldiers. In later years, the building was converted into apartments, so that only the red brick volume of the building remains. The other post pigeon station, No 1, which has not survived, was intended for the use of 750 ground troops and was located at the northern end of Atmodas Boulevard.

Among the many objects of Liepāja Karosta, Liepāja coastal artillery battery No. 2 is still the most mysterious place in Liepaja. In battery no. 2, the ammunition depots of the troops of the various existing powers were always installed.

Liepaja Fortress Battery No. 2 was built further from the coastline and was protected by a high rampart. The batteries were armed with 16 11-inch (280 mm) mortars of the 1877 model. After...

The Northern Forts are the best known and visually most impressive part of the Liepāja Fortress. Built by the Russian tsarist army in the late 19th century, their historical name is Fortress Battery No 1.

In November 1908, less than 10 years after its construction, the Liepāja Fortress ceased to operate, because its construction was acknowledged as a strategic mistake. Some of the cannons...