Zvardinekos vaikystė bombų sprogimų šešėlyje – Daugiakampės vasaros
Vaikystę praleidęs netoli Zvārde taikinio poligono, apsuptas sprogimų ir skrendančių reaktyvinių lėktuvų, vis tiek kartais savaitgaliais galėdavau patekti į poligoną. Sovietų armijai pasitraukus, žemė buvo nusėta bombų krateriais ir daugybe sprogstamųjų užtaisų ne tik poligono laikų, bet ir Antrojo pasaulinio karo laikų.
Daugiakampių vasaros (1980–1990)
Sovietmečiu aplinkinių kolūkių gyventojams vasarą dvi savaites buvo leidžiama įvažiuoti į sąvartyną rinkti šieno. Jei pasisekdavo ir geras oras, galėjai surinkti daug šieno, bet jei oro sąlygos buvo blogos, šienas tiesiog pasilikdavo sąvartyne.
Dviejų riedučių takelių imitacija
Bombardavimas poligone vyko nuo pirmadienio iki šeštadienio, sekmadieniais buvo nedarbo diena. Bandymų aikštelėje buvo nutiesti du kilimo ir tūpimo takai – imitacijos, ant jų – iš lentų pagaminti lėktuvų modeliai. Kilimo ir tūpimo takai buvo įrengti maždaug 3-4 km nuo Kurgano palei Autės kelią. Mano tėvas dirbo poligone, statė ir taisė lėktuvų modelius, o iš lentų surinko naujus modelius, kai buvo sunaikinti ankstesni. Taip pat buvo rekultivuojamos bombų duobės - mano tėvas tam tikromis dienomis su vikšriniu traktoriumi T-150 nuvyko į tikslinę sąvartyno zoną ir užpildė duobes žemėmis. Tarp dviejų kilimo ir tūpimo takų buvo žalias plotas, o aplinkui nebuvo nei krūmų, nei medžių, nes viskas buvo taip netvarkinga, kad šalia duobės buvo duobė.
„Lapsų“ bazėje mažas asfalto lopinėlis buvo specialiai uždengtas lentomis, kad tėtis savo vikšrų vėžėmis nesugadintų asfalto.
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Apie plaukus:
Tai galėjo būti 1989 ar 1990 m., kai mano klasės draugas R. darbo dieną su dviračiu įvažiavo į treniruočių aikštelę ir prasidėjo bombardavimas. Labai bijojau, bet viskas baigėsi gerai.
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/zvardes-merkpoligons-4c93587aba324c22b1fd7b027e184a50
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Zvārde shooting range and former Soviet military base "Lapsas"
The landfill's service base is located approximately 2 kilometres east of Striķu Manor, on the Saldus-Auce road. The former Soviet Military Aviation Target Range (military unit No 15439) in Zvārde is located south of Saldus. The territory of the airfield is home to several sights - the ruins of Zvārde and Ķerkliņi churches, the ruined Rīteļi cemetery, the observation post of the airfield, the so-called "Officers' Kurgan" and the former airfield personnel base and shooting range "Lapsas".
The Zvārde air target range required a unit of approximately one company to service the air target range - to install targets, repair damage, guard the air target range and coordinate air flights. It was based on the site of the house called "Lapsas" until the Second World War. With the construction of the airfield, barracks, transport sheds, a flight control tower and a firing range for training personnel were built.
After Latvia regained its independence, the Zvārde Defence Forces Training Centre operated here, but since 2007 the site has been owned by the municipality and leased by several hunting collectives. The former barracks house an exhibition on the history of Zvārde parish.
Soviet Army Observation Tower (Kurgan of Officers)
The "Officers' Kurgan" is located less than a kilometre from the ruins of Zvārde Church. The Kurgan is made of the ruins and remains of the surrounding houses and manor house, which have been bulldozed together. An observation tower was built on the kurgan. According to the inscription, the present tower was built in 1981. The tower was used to record bomb hits. The training bombs had a reduced explosive content, so their hits had to be watched more carefully. Unexploded bombs were neutralized immediately, but not all could be found.
The remains of the tower can be seen here today - the brick walls. As the barrage is relatively high, you can even see the Lithuanian oil refinery in Mažeikiai on a clear day.
Soviet air force target firing ground in Zvārde
Zvārde landfill is located in Zvārde municipality, Saldus region. It is a former military aviation training ground of the USSR, covering more than 24 000 hectares.
The territory of the former airfield is home to several sites: the Officers' Kurgan, the ruins of the Zvārde and Ķērkliņi churches, the Rīteļi cemetery, the former army base "Lapsas", and others. Until the Second World War, the site of the observation tower was home to the "Vairogi" house. During the construction of the polygon, what was left of the farm - walls, the remains of the apple orchard, and part of the ruins of the Veczvārde manor - was piled together to form a mound and the observation tower was built on it. It was used as an observation point for coordinating the army's training manoeuvres. This place is popularly known as Kurgan. The mound overlooks the former training ground and the wooded areas of Zvārde Nature Park and Nature Reserve. A good place for bird watching. The surroundings of Kurgāns are not landscaped.
Riteli Cemetery
After the airfield was established in this area in 1953 at the request of the USSR Ministry of Defence, the Zvārde Church, the Ķerkliņi Church and the Rīteļi Cemetery were actually located in the centre of the airfield - next to an artificial airfield with access roads and defence positions, which was used as a target by Soviet pilots. Planes flew here from airfields in Latvia and elsewhere in the Soviet Union. In less than 40 years, the church, the cemetery, the former manor house and dozens of surrounding buildings were reduced to ruins. Today, the site is cared for by the Saldus Martin Luther Church. The surrounding area is still contaminated with unexploded ordnance and it can be dangerous to walk off the roads.
Barbarism reached its peak in 1988, when the Rīteļi cemetery with its graves and monuments was bulldozed.
On 21 July 1990, in one of the first actions in which the Latvian population demanded that the USSR army leave the territory of Zvārde, a protest rally was held in Saldus, after which people went to the Rīteļi cemetery. The rally participants were allowed into the landfill site, and they cleaned up the cemetery a bit and dug white crosses.
The landfill continued to be used until 1992 and even as late as March 1992 a plane taking off from Lielvārde crashed in the landfill for unknown reasons. The Latvian Defence Forces started demining the site in May 1993, after the withdrawal of the Russian army. In 2008, Zvārde residents installed a memorial stone "Forgive us for not saving you" in the Rīteļi cemetery.
