Liepaja

Liepaja - darkometer rating : 2 - A town on the Baltic coast of Latvia . It is also a significant sea port. During the Soviet era, the northern part of the harbour town, Karosta , was a large closed military garrison of the Soviet navy. The Russian/Soviet legacy forms the main focal point for dark tourism here, in particular the (in)famous Karosta prison , but there are also other aspects, e.g. relating to the Holocaust . > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: Liepaja (sometimes referred to as Libau, its German name) is Latvia 's third largest city/town at a population of roughly 75,000. That is a lot less than at its peak – which was when the town, or rather its northern extension Karosta , served as an important military base and garrison. Since the Soviets departed after Latvia's regaining independence, there has been a significant exodus, mostly of Russians (some 30,000 moved away) which accounts for the semi-ghost-town character of Karosta today. Liepaja, or rather Karosta, had become a naval base in the late 19th century, when the coastal fortifications (see Northern Forts ) were constructed by/for the Tsarist Russian empire. The navy base was later also home to the first Russian submarines. Also during the Cold War it was one of the most important naval bases on the Baltic coast, when Karosta was a closed military town and the port, too, was closed for all civilian access. Specifically, Liepaja/Karosta was a submarine base for the Soviet Baltic Fleet.