Coastal battery at Olmaņi

Until 1955, battery No. 456 contained four 152 mm cannons of the Kane type, which were manufactured during the First World War and widely used for the protection of the USSR Baltic Sea coast areas in Estonia and Latvia and beyond. After 1955, a new battery is placed right next to the north - also four MY - 2 type 152 mm guns. They were able to fire their projectiles at a distance of 25 km. During construction, it was the most modern of the coastal batteries of that time, its installation began in 1952. When the new battery was ready for battle, the old Kane type cannons were dismantled and taken to Ventspils. The new battery has a command post, a long-range tower, diesel generator sheds, a pool with a capacity of 50 cubic meters for fire safety, and there have also been special facilities for cooling diesel generators. The battery was ready for battle and operated until 1975, when it was "preserved" and kept in reserve.

The last time a battle alarm was announced in the battery was when the crew of the battleship "Stremiķeļni" rebelled against the regime of Secretary General Brezhnev in Riga. However, the battery did not have to open fire on the rebellious ship, which left the port of Riga because it was bombarded from the air. Location of the battery - where the Ventspils - Kolka road crosses the Irbe River, by the sea. The border guard part is also based there. There was a command post and an observation point between the old and the new batteries, and a narrow-gauge railway line passed by. In the 1950s, shore-based batteries have served their military life as newer and more modern weapons - missiles - have been armed. In some places, such as Pitrags seaside, mock-ups are installed instead of real missiles to deceive the enemy. In parallel with the construction of batteries, a military town for service personnel is being built on the banks of the Irbe River, and radio equipment is being installed to monitor the airspace over Eastern Europe. The locals still remember that when the training took place and this battery fired, the rumble of cannons could be heard even in Ventspils and some good windows shook the windows.