Kurzeme Küste - geschlossenes Gebiet
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.
Border guards were tasked with carefully monitoring the coastline to ensure that no one could leave Kurzeme or sneak in - so every evening the beach was ploughed in many places to a width of about 6 metres, which made it possible to identify such cases. If something suspicious was spotted on the beach, a Border Guard patrol in a light SUV went there, and a specially trained dog helped find the traces. If something suspicious was spotted at sea, a searchlight was pushed out of a small building next to the tower, which, when switched on, could illuminate an object up to 22-25 km away. Not all locations had such beacons - the border guards used beacons in the truck box.
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Grenzwachturm in Mazirbe
Zur ehemaligen Marineschule Mazirbe gehörte ein Stützpunkt des sowjetischen Grenzschutzes mit einem bis heute gut erhaltenen Wachturm. Ein weiterer Beobachtungsturm befindet sich direkt am Strand in der Nähe des Parkplatzes. Die Türme sind Relikte aus der Zeit der sowjetischen Besatzung, als Mazirbe zum grenznahen Sperrgebiet gehörte. Zivilisten durften damals nur bestimmte Strandabschnitte betreten und dies auch nur tagsüber. Der ehemalige Wachturm des Grenzschutzes ist einer der besterhaltenen in Lettland. Betreten auf eigene Gefahr!
Bootsfriedhof Mazirbe
Mazirbe, historisch bekannt als das größte Liv-Zentrum, ist bekannt für den einzigen Friedhof für Fischerboote an der lettischen Küste. Er wurde in den 1960er Jahren gebaut, die letzten Boote wurden 1976 hierher gebracht. Die Boote landeten sowohl aus Gründen der Fischereibeschränkungen als auch aus Altersgründen hier.
Heute gibt es in Mazirbe weniger als zehn Wracks von Fischerbooten, aber in der Vergangenheit waren es viel mehr. Auch in anderen Küstendörfern wurden Boote beigesetzt, aber am deutlichsten ist dies heute auf dem Bootsfriedhof von Mazirbe zu sehen.
Der Bootsfriedhof von Mazirbe ist der einzige seiner Art an der lettischen Küste.
Wachturm des sowjetischen Grenzschutzes – heute Aussichtsturm Pāvilosta
Der Wachturm des sowjetischen Grenzschutzes liegt an der südlichen Mole von Pāvilosta. Der ehemalige Beobachtungsturm des sowjetischen Grenzschutzes, der seit Anfang der 1990er Jahre nicht mehr genutzt wird, verfügt heute über eine Aussichtsplattform mit einem um 360 Grad drehbaren Fernrohr. Von hier aus bietet sich ein schöner Blick auf das Meer und die Schiffe. Auch lassen sich von hier aus gut Vögel beobachten. Der Turm ist nur im Sommer und nur bei Tageslicht geöffnet. Das Betreten erfolgt auf eigene Gefahr, insbesondere in Anbetracht der steilen Treppe. Der Turm und seine Umgebung sind videoüberwacht. Im Winter ist er nicht zugänglich.
Leuchtturm Mērsrags und Stützpunkt des Küstengrenzschutzes
Der Leuchtturm von Mērsrags befindet sich in Mērsrags, etwa 1 km nördlich des Ortskerns. Er wurde 1875 in Betrieb genommen. Die Höhe des Leuchtfeuers beträgt 21,3 m. Es handelt sich um eine 18,5 m hohe freistehende, zylindrische, genietete Metallkonstruktion, deren Unterteil mit Stahlbetonpfeilern verstärkt ist. Am oberen Teil befindet sich ein metallener auf Träger gestützter rundum begehbarer Balkon. Der Turm wurde in der Fabrik von Sotera, Lemonnier & Co in Paris gebaut, weshalb er auch „die Französin“ genannt wird. Ende 1944 war eine Batterie der 1003. Heeres-Küstenartillerie-Abteilung der Wehrmacht mit 60-cm-Scheinwerfern am Leuchtturm stationiert. Im Mai 1945 plante die nationalsozialistische deutsche Führung, die lettische 15. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS in das Gebiet zu verlegen, doch die lettischen Soldaten hatten sich bereits den Westalliierten ergeben. Am Leuchtturm von Mērsrags sind die Überreste eines Bauwerks erhalten, das während der Sowjetzeit einen großen, schwenkbaren Scheinwerfer trug, mit dem der sowjetische Grenzschutz auf das Meer hinausleuchten konnte. Am Leuchtturm gibt es einen Turm zur Vogelbeobachtung. Besuche sind nach vorheriger Anmeldung möglich, anzufragen bei der Touristeninformation Mērsrags.
Oviši Lighthouse and Soviet border guard
Oviši Lighthouse is located in the Tārgale parish in a village called Oviši on the coast of Kurzeme. It was built in 1814 and it is the oldest lighthouse in Latvia. The height of Oviši Lighthouse tower is 37 m. The lighthouse has a double-cylinder design: its diameter is 11.5 m, but within the stone wall there is a second tower with a diameter of 3.5 m. Such double-cylinder lighthouses were used also as defensive structures in the 18th-19th century Europe in case of enemy attacks. The Oviši Lighthouse Museum is considered to have the largest collection of lighthouse equipment and maritime navigation items among all Latvian lighthouse museums. When the weather is right the Irbe Lighthouse can be seen from Oviši Lighthouse.
At the end of World War II, the headquarters of the Beminger Battalion of the German Army was located near the Oviši Lighthouse along with the 4th Battery of the 530th Naval Artillery Division with several anti-aircraft guns. It is said that there was a radio direction finder and an infrared ray detection station Donau Gerät located at the foot of the lighthouse. A Soviet border guard post was once located near the lighthouse, but none of the Soviet-era buildings have survived. The Oviši station building is still located in the territory of the lighthouse.
Akmeņrags Lighthouse and the fate of the "Saratov"
The Akmeņrags Lighthouse is located in Saka parish, 10 kilometres southwest of Pāvilosta. The top of the lighthouse can be reached by a spiral staircase and it offers views of the sea and the surrounding forests. Standing at 37 metres high, the current lighthouse tower was built in 1921, while the previous lighthouse was destroyed during World War I.
The Akmeņrags Lighthouse stands out among other lighthouses in Latvia, as it is located in one of the most dangerous places for sailing in the entire Baltic Sea coast. The signal beam of the lighthouse marks a rocky bank, which extends approximately two nautical miles or 3.7 kilometres into the sea in a north-western direction. The depth of the bank is just over two metres. The location of the lighthouse has remained unchanged, but the coastline has been receding over the years. Although a navigation light has been here since 1879, Akmeņrags has seen several shipwrecks. The most notable occurred in September 1923 when a Latvian steamer named Saratow struck the ground. In 1919, Saratow briefly served as the seat of the Latvian Provisional Government. Akmeņrags used to be home to a border guard post, and buildings of the Soviet Army are can be viewed here.
German army coastguard searchlight site in Usi and border guard post in Kolka
No military infrastructure was planned in Cape Kolka, except for several offshore lighthouses that were rebuilt over a long period of time, either before World War I, during World War I or during World War II. Coastal defence batteries were planned for the narrowest part of the Irbe Strait, between the Sirves Peninsula and the Michael Tower Lighthouse.
The only fortifications of a military nature appeared at the end of 1944, when the German Army Group North was preparing to repel possible landings by the Soviet Baltic Fleet. In the spring of 1945, after the ice retreated, two batteries of the 532nd Artillery Division defended the coast at Cape Kolka. Battery 7 with four 75 mm guns and three 20 mm zenith guns. Battery 8 with four 88 mm mortars, three 20 mm mortars and an 81 mm mortar. The anti-deserter infantry garrison consisted of one of the most famous coastal defence units of the German Navy, the 5th Company of the 531st Artillery Division. Although it was an artillery unit by name, it was an infantry unit by deployment, which started its war in June 1941 at Liepāja. The unit was then garrisoned on islands in the Gulf of Finland and later took part in the fighting on the island of Saaremaa. The remnants of the division were reformed into one company and, reinforced with seven anti-tank guns and three 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, deployed at Cape Kolka.
The Soviet naval landing operation never took place and the German units capitulated in May 1945.
The military infrastructure in Cape Kolka began to be built after the Second World War, when Soviet border guard posts were deployed here and Kolka, like the entire Kurzeme coast from Mērsrags to the Lithuanian border, became a closed zone
Pāvilosta local history museum exposition
Named ‘Pāvilosta, a Closed Area’, the exhibit in the Pāvilosta Local History Museum is about everyday life in the town of Pāvilosta during the Soviet occupation; specifically, about the executive branch, border area, fishermen’s collective farm, and the cultural and social activities. In addition to the permanent exhibit, there is an interactive and emotionally rich digital exhibit in two languages and an audio-visual installation offering a film about Pāvilosta.
The museum also features a new exhibit named ‘The Golden Sand Grains of Pāvilosta’. The digital installation showcases old events, how Pāvilosta was founded and the most important developments from 1918 to the present day. Military heritage is a point of focus in the War of Independence section, which tells a story about the freedom fighters of Latvia and the time of the Soviet occupation.
