Karosta Military Town is a suburb in the north of Liepaja, occupying about 1/3 of its total area and is a historical landmark. Karosta was founded at the end of the 19th century.
The road to the military town passes through 2 bridges. The first bridge spans over canal, which connects the nearby Liepaja Lake and the Baltic Sea. А the second bridge crosses the Karosta Canal, which for several kilometres several kilometres into the land. Once in the bowels of the canal there were docks of the Baltic Fleet of the Soviet Union, and a large number of citizens were barred from coming here.
Liepaja became a major trading settlement during the first Baltic Baltic Crusades due to the fact that its bay did not freeze in winter. In the 19th century the city became the foundation base of the Baltic Navy of the Russian state. Its close location to Prussia was one of the most important circumstances that predetermined the choice of the city of Liepaja as a naval base. This military base was the last one to be laid down and built by the Russian Empire.
The history of the Liepaja military town Karosta dates back more than a century. The decree on the construction of a fortress, a seaport and a military camp was decreed by the Russian Tsar Alexander III in 1890. Simultaneously with the growth and development of the harbour, an impressive system of forts along the shores of the Baltic Sea. After the death of Tsar Alexander III, his son, Tsar Nicholas II, ordered the naming of the new military port in honour of his father. In 1919, after Latvia became independent, the port of Alexander III's port changes its name to Karosta, i.e. now it is called simply - the Military Port.
The port of Alexander III was conceived as an independent object, including its own infrastructure, power station, sewerage system, church, school and post office. Interestingly, letters sent from Liepaja to Port Alexander III and vice versa cost not 1 kopeck, as ordinary messages within the city, but 3 kopecks, as if they were international dispatches.
Today Karosta has become a very interesting tourist place in Liepaja. On the territory of the former military port, monuments of those years have been preserved. This is a drawbridge bridge made of steel. It was built in 1906 and is still in operation. Farther away you can see the amazing beauty of the Orthodox Cathedral of St Nicholas, built in 1901. There is also a military prison here, consisting of several 2-3-storey buildings made of red-coloured bricks. The first arrestees were sailors who took part in the 1905 revolution. This is where they were shot here. They are buried opposite - in the fraternal cemetery. During the Soviet era the buildings were used as a brig, later - for the needs of the Latvian army. But the latter didn't take root here, and it was decided to give it all away for tourists to see.
The prisons have now become a museum. They are open to tourists. The cells have an atmosphere the atmosphere of those times, as if they were prisoners: dirty mattresses, metal mugs, stools. And in the administrative section you can see portraits of Lenin, state-owned metal desks, police uniforms of convoy officers on a hanger.
Another interesting site is the Northern Forts. These coastal fortifications fulfilled their functions for a very short time. In 1908 they were blown up because of Russia's peace treaty with Germany. But six years later, these countries to become sworn enemies again. And the destruction of the fort system only served to undermine the country's position. And in a few more years, Tsarist Russia. The labyrinths of the Northern Forts can also be accessed and wandered through by torchlight.
Now the military town is home to about 8,000 inhabitants. It can be reached from Liepaja city centre by bus or minibus.
Liepaja military town Karosta is an amazing place, a unique monument not only of Latvian, but also of world history and architecture.
