Irbene

Irbene
Irbene
Ghost town
	Abandoned houses in Irbene in 2014
	Irbene
	Coordinates: 57°33′53″N 21°51′46″E / 57.56472°N 21.86278°E
Country	Latvia
Municipality	Ventspils Municipality
Parish	Ance parish
Established	1971
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Irbene is a ghost town in Ance parish, northwestern Latvia. In 1971, the Soviet Union established a secret radar center "Звезда" ("Star" in Russian; later acquired by Ventspils Starptautiskais Radioastronomijas Centrs in 1990s) and built a settlement for military officers and their families, naming it Irbene because of nearby river Irbe. The town had a school, shop, sport and concert halls. However, the town was not marked on maps.^[1] Only the holders of a special permit were able to access Irbene. After the withdrawal of the Soviet Army in 1993 the town became abandoned.^[2]

References

^ Rasmussen, Johannes (2010). Travel guide : traces of the Cold War period : the countries around the Baltic Sea. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers. ISBN 9789289321211.
^ "Vaiduoklių miestas Irbene" (in Lithuanian). niekonaujo.lt. 2010-10-22. Retrieved 2015-07-21.

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[Rasmussen-1] Rasmussen, Johannes (2010). Travel guide : traces of the Cold War period : the countries around the Baltic Sea. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers. ISBN 9789289321211.

[2] "Vaiduoklių miestas Irbene" (in Lithuanian). niekonaujo.lt. 2010-10-22. Retrieved 2015-07-21.

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