Liepāja Northern Fort and Battery Nr.1 in Karosta
Įtvirtinimas
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 were dismantled and taken to the Kaunas Fortress in Lithuania, while others were remelted. Fortification structures were detonated twice in an attempt to destroy the fortifications. Elements surviving to the present day include artillery batteries not fully destroyed in the explosions and underground structures. Just like the Karosta, the Northern Forts were a closed military territory during the Soviet occupation. Visitors to the Northern Forts should be very careful. As in other places on the Latvian coast, the steep shore of the Baltic Sea in the Karosta is dangerous due to potential coastal landslides. Therefore, it is not allowed to walk under the ruins of the forts.
In the northern part of the fortress was located one of the four coastal defence batteries, Battery No.1. The battery was to house six 6-inch (152 mm) guns of the 1892 model of the Canet system, six 11-inch (280 mm) guns of the 1887 model and two 57 mm Nordenfeld anti-ship guns. Only the guns of the Canet system had a long enough firing range to withstand possible shelling by the German Navy. Thus, at the time of the liquidation of the fortress, the armament was only partially installed.
Susijusi istorija
Unikalaus karinio objekto Karostoje istorija
Jau daug metų nepastebėjau, kad Senosios Liepojos gyventojai domėtųsi unikaliomis vietomis, esančiomis vos aštuonių – dešimties kilometrų į šiaurę nuo miesto centro. Tačiau miško tankmėje, kopų pakrantėje ar pelkių takeliuose pasislėpusios Karostos istorinės vietos – ne mažiau įdomūs istoriniai faktai ir istorijos, vertos seniai pamirštų legendų. Viena iš jų – buvusi SSRS 23-ioji pakrantės artilerijos baterija – bus šios istorijos tema.
About the cannons of Liepāja fortress
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.
Karosta - German He-111 landing place in 1939 on the beach of Liepaja
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.