Skrunda
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Skrunda (; german: Schrunden) is a
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
in the
Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...
region of
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
. It lies 150 km (95 mi) west of the capital city
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
in
Kuldīga Municipality Kuldīga Municipality ( lv, Kuldīgas novads) is a municipality in Courland, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Ēdole parish, Gudenieki parish, Īvande parish, Kabile parish, Kurmāle parish, Laidi parish, Padure parish ...
.


History

The historical sources first mentioned Skrunda (german: Schrunden) in the Curonian Peninsula in 1253. In 1368 the Skrund Castle of the German Order was built on the left bank of Venta. During the
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...
period glass mills, powder mills, and nail, gun, and rifle workshops were operating in Skrunda. The finished products were transported down the Venta River. From 1685 through Skrunda, the main postal route of the Dukedom is Jelgava - Dobele - Blidene - Saldus - Skrunda - Grobina - Liepaja - Sventa - Momele. During the Swedish invasion of the
Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
, the town was plundered. At the beginning of the 19th century, near the ruins of the former Order Castle, the Skrunda Manor House was built in the classic style. It was restored in 1881. The settlement began to form after the construction of the narrow-gauge railway line Liepaja- Aizpute, Aizputes-Skrunds- Saldus, during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. During the struggle for freedom in Latvia, between 22 and 29 January 1919, at Skrunda a major battle took place between the 2nd Soviet Latvian Riflemen's Regiment and the Latvian Special Battalion, under the leadership of
Oskars Kalpaks Oskars Kalpaks (6 January 1882–6 March 1919) was the commander of 1st Latvian Independent Battalion, also known as "Kalpaks Battalion". Kalpaks was born in a farming family. Having decided to become a soldier he completed Irkutsk military s ...
. After the agrarian reform of 1920, the lands of Skrunda's manor were divided into building plots. In 1925 Skrunda was given the status of a densely populated (village) estate. With the opening of the Glüda-Liepaja high-speed railway line in 1929, the economic development of Skrunda accelerated. In 1935 in Skrunda there were about 50 small businesses, as well as several industrial enterprises including watermills, linen processing workshop, two sawmills, and two mechanical workshops. In 1950 Skrunda was granted status of a workers' village, and in 1961 it created a
town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...
. In the period from 1950 to 1959, Skrunda was the center of Skrunda district. In 1969, the VEF factory was built in Skrunda. During the Soviet era there was the Aizpute peat factory, geological and hydrogeological expedition, PMK section, workshops for utility services, "Skrunda" fisheries, and the reloading base of the woodcutting plant "Volcano". In 1996 Skrundai was granted city rights.


Skrunda-1

There is a former Soviet secret city near the town - Skrunda-1, which housed two major radar installations during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
period. One radar was demolished in 1995. Pursuant to an agreement between the Republic of Latvia and the Russian Federation, the other radar stations suspended operations on August 31, 1998. In October 1999, after several months of dismantling, the dismantled installations were repatriated to Russia, and the last Russian troops and families vacated the area. Skrunda-1 is currently a
ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
, as the last remaining residents abandoned the town in 1999. The Soviet Union, when building secret installations, usually left the name of the settlement off the map and referred to them literally by the name of the nearest town, plus a number (usually a 1). In February 2010 the town was sold to a Russian investor for 1.6 million Latvian lats ($3.1 million); after that bidder (and a runner-up) backed out, the property was auctioned on June 4, 2010 to Iniciative Europa for 170,000 Latvian lats ($333,000). However, the property remains abandoned with a lone guard blocking the main entrance to keep tourists away. The property then was purchased by Skrunda municipality for 12,000€, which in early 2016 started selling tickets for €4 to visit the ghost town. However, failing to generate interest from investors, the municipality gave tenure of the property to the Ministry of Defense, which as of 2016 planned to use it for military exercises.


See also

* List of cities in Latvia


References


External links


Photographs of the former Soviet military town complex in 2007

Photographs of the town in 2007
{{Authority control Towns in Latvia 1996 establishments in Latvia Kuldīga Municipality Goldingen County Courland