Paieška

The construction of the battery began in 1914. As it was an additional battery, missing in the original plan of the naval fortress and the type of guns was repeatedly changed. Finally four 120- mm Vickers guns were installed. A 200-m length and 10-20-m width sandbar was piled up in defence of the gun emplacements and covered in concrete above the guns. Hindu was the only battery in Hiiumaa that participated in combat operations during the Tagalahe landing on 12 October 1917. After a brief exchange of fire with the German warships the Russian artillerymen fled, leaving the battery intact. The Germans sent a landing unit of soldiers inland that blew up the guns of the battery. One of the German warships that shot Hindu battery, was ’Bayern’, the  warship with the largest displacement that has ever been in the Estonian waters (length 180 m, displacement 32 200 tons, eight 380-mm guns).The building of the battery radio station was transported to Emmaste and was used as the community centre (demolished in the 1980s). The gun barrels and other larger details were still there in 1937. Today the first and the second gun platforms are still identifiable, the other two are situated on a fenced farmyard. The third gun crater is filled with earth and there is a newly built house facing the sea, the remains of the fourth one is merely a cracked concrete platform. Out of two air defence gun platforms, one survives (a hundred metres toward the nursing home, on the right side of the road). There are no intact buildings. The machine gun bunker between the first and the second emplacement was completed in 1941. 

Concurrently with the construction of Hindu battery, there was a plan to build something in  Lepiku village where large gravel bars were piled up, still visible today. It is unknown what the building was going to be.

This memorial to the victims of the Holocaust is situated not far from the small borough of Klooga.

The first monument was erected here in 1951, but it essentially praised the Soviet ideology and did little to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. In 1994, the plaques on the monument were replaced with new ones at the request of the Jewish community in Estonia so as to do justice to the victims' ethnic roots. On the 50th anniversary of the mass murder perpetrated in Klooga, a monument to the Jews killed in Estonia from 1941-1944 was unveiled 100 metres from the first monument. In 2005, a third monument was unveiled commemorating the Jews who died or were killed in the concentration camp in Klooga.

The memorial was renovated in 2013 to tie the three monuments together, with the Estonian History Museum opening an outdoor exhibition here entitled ‘Klooga camp and the Holocaust’.

Klooga concentration camp was established by the German regime in September 1943. It was a forced-labour sub-camp of the Vaivara concentration camp complex in Estonia. On 19 September 1944, one of the largest mass murders in German-occupied Estonia was committed: all of the Jews at the camp (around 2000 in total) were killed as the Red Army approached.

It is located on the left bank of the Daugava between the Riga HPP - Jaunjelgava (P85) and Bauska - Aizkraukle (P87) roads. Its western slope is crossed by the so-called Degumu road. A very pronounced relief form - 84 m above sea level, which was a strategically important place on the front line of the left bank of the Daugava during the First and Second World Wars. The positions of the trenches cover the hill from three sides (except its southern part), but the flat and slopes of the hill are incised with pits of various sizes, which are clearly visible both in nature and on LIDAR maps. From the eastern side, Priežu Hill is surrounded by the deep ravine of the Raju Stream. Priežu kalnis should be seen as a part of a larger military "complex" (from both world wars of the 20th century): 0.8 km northeast of it was the bridge built by the German army during the Second World War across the Daugava (pillars preserved on the banks), 1.3 km to the east of it - in Āmurkalnė - a "flakturm" was built, while in Taurkalnė, 6 km away, there is a Jelgava - Krustpils railway station with an ammunition storage from the Second World War (according to legend), and less than a kilometer to the south - the graves of the Vecluiku brothers from the First World War. You can get to the top of the Pine Hill by a small road that leads to the cell tower. The Daugava valley is clearly visible from the cut forest ridge to the north. The continuous line of trenches (can be traced in nature and on LIDAR maps) encircling Priežu Hill continues for more than 9 km in the west-northwest direction up to the Enkurnieki-Lāčplėš road. The vicinity of Priežu and Smilšu kalnas (2.9 km southwest of Priežu kalnas) is a suitable place for hiking.

This monument is situated in the village of Ala in Tõrva municipality, on land formerly part of Taagepera Manor. It comprises an obelisk, originally a slab in the stairs, with a stepped plinth (the original with three steps) mounted on a stepped base. The front of the obelisk is engraved with the text "HONOUR TO THE FALLEN”; beneath it is a depiction of the Cross of Liberty and the years 1918-1920. It was designed by Tõrva stonemason Richard Tooming. The monument was unveiled on 2 September 1934.

It was demolished in October 1940.

Years later, stonemason Elmar Kling was given the plinth inscribed with the names of the fallen. He contacted the local residents and was commissioned to restore the monument. It was unveiled anew on 12 May 1990.

This monument is dedicated to the Finnish soldiers and officers of the Sons of the North Regiment who fought in the Battle of Paju. Adorned with a brown granite tablet reading "A noble endeavour will forever shine throughout the ebb and flow of time" in Estonian and Finnish, the monument is situated in Paju Manor park near the larger monument to the Battle of Paju. The Finnish government helped to organise the deployment of around 2300 Finnish volunteers in the country. For this, they were required to leave their service in the Finnish Defence Forces. Their arrival in January 1919 was a major turning point in the War of Independence.

The idea for this memorial came from Otto Mägi, who was assisted in realising it by his comrade Heino Kerde. In 2001, Mägi petitioned Kärdla City Council for a monument to be erected in memory of Hiiumaa's fallen World War II soldiers. The monument was designed by sculptor Elo Liiv and architects Maris Kerge and Kadri Kerge. The model for the sculpture was Marek Vainumäe from Kärdla. 

In total, 685 names are engraved in the granite, all of them Hiiumaa’s fallen, regardless of whose uniform they wore. The uniform on the bronze sculpture, on the other hand, is instantly recognisable – the young man is wearing an Estonian uniform and has taken off his German helmet. This is the only monument in Estonia dedicated to all those who fell during the war, not limited to one side. The project came to fruition thanks to government grants from the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Defence and donations from private individuals and companies. Construction work was coordinated by Kärdla City Council and the Union of Freedom Fighters and the Repressed of Hiiumaa. The monument was unveiled on 25 May 2012.

This monument is situated in the church yard in Valjala. It was fashioned by Anton Õunapuu. The monument, in memory of the soldiers from Valjala parish who fell in the War of Independence, was unveiled on 24 June 1923. In autumn 1944 (other sources state September 1947) it was blown to pieces. The architect behind the new monument was A. Mänd. The monument was unveiled anew on 23 June 1993.

Certain changes were made to the original design. The dolomite monument forms an obelisk mounted on a stepped plinth, crowned with a cornice cap. Atop it stands a dolomite Cross of Liberty.

The three square kilometres of this island in the north-eastern corner of Tallinn Bay are the site of an extensive network of coastal defence batteries and a three-kilometre narrow-gauge railway built before World War I as a continuation of the fortification work begun by Peter the Great in the 18th century. Construction of the Alexander Nevsky Battery began in 1915. The 180-metre concrete structure was coupled at both ends with barbettes supporting two 12-inch guns each. The guns at the eastern end were higher than at the western end, allowing them to be fired westward over the other guns. Battery No. 3 was built on the western shore of Aegna and was ready for combat by autumn 1916. The battery was first planned to have six 130-mm guns, but in the end it was only equipped with four.

In 1918, following the declaration of the independence of Estonia, the coastal defences were taken over by the Estonian Navy. The island had residential housing, barracks, an officer’s mess, staff headquarters, a bread factory, a library, a clinic, a bathhouse and more. The command centre on the island was completed in 1927 in Eerikneeme. Battery No. 10 was also completed that year, equipped with three 75-mm anti-aircraft guns (with a barrel length of 3.75 m) capable of firing up to 6 km in altitude. The importance of Aegna in the coastal defence of Estonia is reflected in the fact that, at its peak, half the men serving in the Naval Fortress Division were stationed on the island. The existing infrastructure enabled the locals to manage on their own in winter, since disruptions to sea traffic were common.

After World War II, the Soviet Navy Baltic Fleet Air Defence branch, consisting of around 100 marines, was stationed on Aegna until 1957. A new anti-aircraft battery made up of four concrete gun pits 45 metres apart were constructed near the Alexander Nevsky Battery searchlight bunker in the north-western part of the island. Bofors 40-mm guns formerly used by the Estonian military were installed. Due to the Estonian coastline being a restricted area during the Soviet era, travelling to Aegna only became possible again in the 1960s. Traces of different military periods are still clearly visible on the island.

The 130-mm battery at Tahkuna is architecturally similar to the battery at Tohvri. The ferroconcrete surfaces in the gun emplacements bear the inscripted date 20/IV 1941. In 1941 the battery had four 130-mm  B-13 guns (weight of gun including shield 12.8 tons, crew 11, shooting range up to 25 km). The crew included 151 seamen and 9 officers. The guns were installed right before the battles of October 1941.

The ferroconcrete gun blocks remained intact in the war and the crew arrived as early as October 1944. First the battery had three 130-mm B-13 guns. The last shots were fired in Tahkuna in January 1960 when there were 4 guns. When the battery was operating, the last kilometre of the road leading to the lighthouse was closed by a barrier and a gate house and this part of the road is still missing on the military topograhic map published in 1959.

The buildings of Tahkuna battery have survived in a fairly good state. In the ammunition depots next to the gun blocks occasional shell shelves have survived, they can also be found in the ammunition depots in the rear of the emplacements. The shelter-power station (the gas shelter) still has bunk beds. Between the boiler house and the diesel power station there is a particular water line hidden in a high parapet with a concrete reservoir at both ends. A fire control tower was built next to the command post in the 1950s and after the battery was closed down, it was used as an observation post of the naval radio technology unit. As the forest kept growing and the seaview got worse, the tower gained another floor. This new addition demonstrates a notably poorer building quality in comparison with the rest. The added floor includes a stove, whereas originally the tower had central heating. On the whole territory of the battery there are cable ditches that have been dug open – dating from the 1960s when the collective farms were permitted to take electric gear from the abandoned batteries, as well as from the early 1990s when all the cables that had been meanwhile installed and could be spotted, were taken. With the territory being completely neglected and heavily overgrown, finding and studying the objects could be complicated.

On the territory of the battery, next to the parking lot, there is a monument from 1968 in memory of the Baltic Navy soldiers who perished in 1941. The author of the monument is Vitali Navoznyhh, originally from Leningrad. He participated in the battles of 1941 in Hiiumaa and settled on the island after the war, working as a stonecarver. Next to the monument there is a tombstone to two unknown soldiers who were buried there in 1973. 

This memorial is situated in Pilistvere cemetery.

Groundwork for the memorial began in 1988, with 300 people rallying to the cause. The joint effort of volunteers continues to this day, with improvements being made to the memorial each year. The idea for the memorial came from freedom fighter Lagle Parek.

At its centre lies a cairn of rocks brought from places over Estonia, from Siberia and from even further afield by Estonian expats. The cairn is crowned by a large cross. The foot of the cross is a symbolic tomb, to which Estonian people bring rocks to commemorate loved ones deported to Siberia.

The cairn is surrounded by boulders, one for each county, designed by Aate-Heli Õun and set in place in phases.

Near the memorial are memorial stones to the victims of the radiation from Chernobyl, to the Forest Brothers, to those conscripted into the NKVD’s labour columns, to Estonian volunteers in the Finnish army and to freedom fighters. These were all designed by Endel Palmiste.

In addition to the cairn, a grove of more than 2000 memorial trees has been planted near the memorial. The grove was designed by renowned landscape architect Andres Levald.

The historic Pilistvere pastorate, serving as the main building at the memorial site, houses an archive and an Estonian History Museum exhibition about the occupation of Estonia.

This monument, in remembrance of freedom fighters from Southern Estonia, depicts a statue of an unknown soldier, his sword sheathed, holding a flag in one hand and the other outstretched, standing on top of a tall plinth. The original monument was unveiled on the 31st birthday of Lieutenant Julius Kuperjanov on 11 October 1925, but was demolished by the Soviet regime on the night of 21 September 1940. It was unveiled anew at its original location on Kuperjanovi Street in Valga on 16 August 2013. The original monument was designed in 1925 by Amandus Adamson, who also oversaw the bronze sculpture's casting in Italy. It was restored to its full size by sculptor Jaak Soans. The restoration was organised by the non-profit organisation VIKP (Permanent Exhibition of Patriotic Education in Valga), the town and county government of Valga and the Estonian War Museum.

In Vidriži, at the turn to Lēdurga, during the Freedom Struggle on June 19, 1919, Marine First Lieutenant Vilis Gelbe and two soldiers fell in battle.

Vilis Gelbe is buried in the Limbaži cemetery. Vilis Gelbe was awarded the III class of the Lāčplēš War Order (No. 895) for his heroic deed at Vidrižu manor.

Currently, three commemorative crosses installed in 1989 can be seen at the battle site.

On June 22, 1934, a bronze commemorative plaque made by the artist Stefan Berc was unveiled near the maple growing in the manor park. Already at the beginning of the communist occupation, in the fall of 1940, the memorial plaque disappeared. The maple to which it was nailed also died. At the beginning of the Revival, on June 19, 1989, on the 70th anniversary of the death of Gelbe and two soldiers of his team - corporal Krustiņš and soldier Krūza - at the crossroads where a memorial plaque used to be, on the initiative of the Environmental Protection Club and Latvian People's Front branches of Limbažu county, installed three wooden crosses made in folk style by Jānis Eglīš. By the decision of the executive committee of Limbažu district in April 1991, this memorial place was included in the list of historical monuments of local significance.

This coastal defence battery is situated in Ninase near the Port of Saaremaa on Tagaranna Peninsula. Following the outbreak of World War II, the Soviet Union began fortifying the Western Estonian Archipelago and a coastal defence battery comprising four 180-mm guns was built on farmland in the village of Ninase to deter the enemy. Construction work on the battery began in July 1940. Its artillery stood 200-300 metres apart, with a generator established nearby to supply the complex with electricity. The battery was not used in combat. On 20 September 1941, German troops surrounded the battery. The battery crew managed to blow up two of the guns and break through the German line.

Ninase Coastal Defence Battery is one of the best preserved historical buildings from World War II on Saaremaa and has turned into a popular tourist attraction. It has become more attractive in recent years thanks to the Mustjala Music Festival, which is held nearby.

This coastal defence battery is situated in Pikanina in the southern part of the island of Abruka. It is 4 km from the village centre.

Battery no. 3 (the 29th battery) was built shortly after the decree of the Mutual Assistance Pact near the former border outpost. It was manned by 125 soldiers, five of them officers. The unit’s commander was Senior Lieutenant Savin, aided by Commissary Lukonin. By 1941, three 130-mm gun positions had been completed. Two of them were destroyed in German air raids. The gun that survived was to be relocated to the planned Battery no. 25a in Lindmetsa on Sõrve Peninsula, but in reality they only managed to move the shells and gunpowder there. The Germans captured Abruka on 3 October 1941. Estonian riflemen retook the island on 9 October 1944. A construction battalion comprising of?  Latvians was immediately brought to the island. This time, four artillery positions were constructed, with American 127-mm guns being assembled on them.

Today, two of the emplacements can be seen clearly from afar; the other two are obscured by vegetation. Overgrown trenches and a collapsed ammunition dump with two entries can be seen near the road, marked with a temporary wooden tablet. The area is currently used as coastal pastureland, which is why there may be electric fences along the road.

This museum is situated in the Military Academy building on Riiamägi Hill in Tartu.

It grew out of the Defence League archive established in the mid-1990s.

Since 1998 the museum has been operating as part of the Military Academy.

Its exhibition showcases the history of the Estonian Defence Forces and Defence League before and since the Soviet occupation.

It displays a variety of armaments, military decorations, Estonian Defence Forces and Defence League flags and emblems, ammunition and communications equipment and many other types of supplies.

The museum offers guided tours for both individuals and groups in Estonian and English.

This monument is situated by the Tartu-Jõgeva road in the village of Voldi in Tartu municipality.

Designed by Voldemar Mellik, it was unveiled on 28 June 1925. The cast-iron sculpture depicted an Estonian soldier on guard, wearing winter clothing, indicating the liberation of Äksi, which took place during that season. The statue was demolished in 1945, but the plinth remained. The monument, restored by sculptor Airike Taniloo-Bogatkin, was unveiled anew on 27 August 1989. The current bronze sculpture is an exact replica of the original, but the plinth differs by having a depiction of a sword carved into it instead of the original separate sword on the rear. It is surrounded by a grove of oak trees called the Oak Forest of Liberty, which was planted in 1925.

The mass grave in Rae forest in Reiu village has two markers. The memorial column was erected in 1967, the tombstone after the re-establishment of the Republic of Estonia. The pink granite memorial has two plaques with the text: "SEVEN HUNDRED SOVIET CITIZENS WERE MURDERED HERE / BY THE FASCISTS / IN 1941-1944" and "ЗДЕСЬ ПАЛИ / ЖЕРТВАМИ / ФАШИЗМА / В 1941-1944 Г.Г. / СЕМЬСОТ / СОВЕТСКИХ / ГРАЖДАН".

Located in Valka on Varoņu Street next to the Forest Cemetery.

A monument to 30 soldiers of the 1st (4th) Valmiera Infantry Regiment who died in the Latvian War of Independence can be seen.

The monument was unveiled on October 1, 1922. It consists of the figure of an ancient Latvian warrior ("Ancestor") carved in local pink granite, placed on a two-part pedestal made of gray granite. The sketch of the sculptor Emil Melder (Miller) has been chosen for the monument. Along with Melder, the sculptor Wilhelm Trey also participated in the forging of the monument.

It is the first monument of the Latvian War of Independence created by a professional sculptor, as well as the only one in the interwar period, made in the style of modernism, using elements of Cubism.

During the repeated communist occupation in 1951, the sculpture of the monument was demolished, partially damaged and buried. Burials were also leveled.

In 1988, as the centenary of the sculptor E. Melder (1889-1979) approached, the study of his works began.
The restored brothers' cemetery, along with the restored monument, was unveiled on November 11, 1990.

In 2017, eight memorials to the Knights of the Lāčplēsis War Order connected with Valka were erected in the Brothers' Cemetery. They are located on both sides of the monument - on four sides on each side.

The memorial is located near the Pāvilosta beach lookout tower in the dunes. There are signs pointing to the memorial.

At the end of the Second World War, three Lithuanian police battalions, the 5th, 13th and 256th, were also deployed in Latvia, and after guard duty and fighting against Soviet partisans and the Red Army on the Eastern Front, from autumn 1944 they were involved in guarding the Baltic Sea coast in Kurzeme.

In October 1944, all three battalions, consisting of 32 officers and about 900 instructors and soldiers, were subordinated to the German 18th Army's 583rd Rear Guard Unit (Koruck 583). The unit was tasked with guarding the Kurzeme coast from Liepāja to Ventspils. All three Lithuanian battalions were deployed in the vicinity of Pavilosta. In December 1944, the 13th Battalion was transferred to the German 1st Army Corps at the Liepaja Lake.

One of the tasks of the Lithuanian coastguard, besides being ready to fight enemy landings and to report enemy ships, was to prevent Latvian refugee boats from sailing to the island of Gotland, 160 kilometres away, but the Lithuanian coastguard men did not prevent the refugee boats from leaving. However, news of the Lithuanian coastguard helping the Latvian refugees and the Lithuanians themselves preparing to cross the sea to Sweden also reached the Germans.

On 10 January 1945, the soldiers of the 1st Company of the 5th Lithuanian Police Battalion were rounded up. More than a week of interrogation and trial followed, which, as a warning to the others, decided to execute seven of the Lithuanian soldiers and to imprison 11 of their comrades in concentration camps in Germany. The execution of the seven Lithuanian soldiers (Sergeant Macijauski, the company commander; Juozas Sendrjuas, a soldier; Vladas Salickas, a soldier; Ionas Bašinskis, Krasauskas and two unknown others) took place on 21 January 1945 in the Zaļkalns Pines in Pavilosta.

In January 1945, the 5th Battalion was disbanded and the combat-ready soldiers were divided into the two remaining battalions, while the rest were formed into a separate sapper company. At the time of the surrender of Army Group Kurzeme in May 1945, two battalions (13th and 256th) were still in Kurzeme as a sapper company with a total of 900 soldiers who were taken prisoner by the Soviets.
 

The Altar of Victory is situated next to the former dairy on Vaadu Farm in Aidu, by the Jõgeva-Põltsamaa road.

It is a monument to the War of Independence. This monument marks the furthest point a Red Army soldier advanced.

The monument designed by Eduard Järve was unveiled on 23 June 1929. In 1932 two oak trees were planted near the monument, one of which has survived.  On 4 January 1934 the 2nd Infantry Battalion replanted an oak tree brought from Aidu on the square at Lembitu barracks in Tartu in honour of the battle of Aidu.

On 4 January 1934, the 2nd Infantry Battalion uprooted one of the oak trees in Aidu and replanted it on the square in front of the Lembitu barracks in Tartu in memory of the Battle of Aidu. The monument was blown to pieces in 1940 before being completely destroyed in 1965. The current copy of the original monument was unveiled on 23 June 1989.

Here, on 28 September 1978, two intelligence officers attempted to capture 69-year-old August Sabbe, who had been hiding from Soviet authorities for almost 30 years. However, capturing him alive proved impossible – following a scuffle, Sabbe threw himself into the Võhandu River and drowned. His body was recovered, taken to Tartu and buried in an unmarked grave in Raadi cemetery on 20 October that year. On the same day two decades later, his grave was marked with a tombstone. In 2002 a memorial to him was placed on the banks of the Võhandu River. Sabbe's pistol is on display in the Forest Brothers section of the main exhibition at Võru County Museum.

This museum is situated in the old pharmacy in the centre of Viljandi.

The main exhibition on both floors showcases the history of Viljandi County over the centuries. The museum also hosts unique temporary exhibitions.
Part of the main exhibition is dedicated to the military history of the region: World War I, the War of Independence, the declaration of the independence of the Republic of Estonia and World War II. The museum displays its military collections, including those of Lieutenant Colonel Martin-Friedrich Bergmann, Lieutenant Colonel Artur Tenno and Colonel Johannes-August Vellerind, consisting of their personal belongings, arms, documents, medals and decorations. Also on display is the collection of medals uncovered during the museum's renovations in 1999 belonging to the Sakala regional unit of the Defence League. The propaganda material and military equipment of both the Germans and the Soviets from 1940-1944 illustrate the World War II years and the dismantling of the Republic of Estonia. Part of the exhibition is dedicated to the mass deportations that took place and to the resistance movement of the Forest Brothers. The museum also screens films outlining the exhibitions.

A monument listing around 200 Red Army soldiers who died of their wounds or from disease stands at the gates of this cemetery, on one side of which there is a separate burial ground. Similarly to the first monument, the soldiers and officers buried there died in Red Army hospitals. In addition, soldiers and officers of the Soviet Army who died after the war were also buried in the cemetery.

This military outpost is situated in the village of Spitham in Lääne-Nigula municipality on the Gulf of Finland.

Construction of the outpost began in 1958. It is assumed that the military unit from Osmussaar was relocated here. Tents were used prior to the completion of the barracks, with senior officers accommodated on local farms. Barracks, a canteen and technical facilities were built. Its diesel power generator also provided electricity to the village. In 1993 the military unit was relocated to Leningrad oblast in Russia. 

Two large radar mounds, a command centre, multiple technical bunkers, a garage for transporting equipment, a couple of pillboxes and some ruins remain of the radar station. Only the crumbling canteen remains of its residential quarters.