Irbene Radio Telescope & Karosta Prison
Day Six - The Baltics - 2024
Casual visits to a Soviet spy station and a Soviet military prison … as one does.
Editor’s Comment: The terms “Baltics” and “Baltic” are complicated: geopolitically, the “Baltic states” refer to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, the “Baltic region” refers to those states which border the Baltic Sea, and the “Baltic peoples” are those who speak Baltic languages, primarily Latvian and Lithuanian. I apply the term “Baltics” in this travelogue to apply to those states of Baltic region I traveled through, in this case Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Additionally, certain characters have been transliterated to be compatible with the fonts used on this website.
1. Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre #1
Even after the fall of the Soviet Union, details about the signals collection station in Irbene -now the site of the Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre, or VIRAC- are extremely limited.
Checking out of our homestay early in the morning, we made our way west out of Riga and headed to the present-day Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre (VIRAC), a location that was shrouded in total secrecy in the days of the Soviet Union.
Here is the information about the site that is either universally accepted or for which there is a strong basis of evidence:
In the late 1960s, construction began on a large telescope at a Soviet naval facility in Ukraine. Upon completion, the telescope was transferred to a military facility northeast of the Latvian city of Ventspils which was constructed between 1971 and 1974. The area was thereafter declared a closed city and was removed from all Soviet maps released to the public. It was known by the name Zvezdochka, or “Little Star.”
The site was almost certainly was designed to collect NATO radio signals, but what specific types of communications were collected at Zvezdochka are still unknown. Suggestions have ranged from satellite transmissions, landline calls, encrypted communications, and diplomatic cables.
At Zvezdochka, three telescopes were ultimately constructed: RT-32, 32 meters (105 feet) in diameter; RT-16, 16 meters (52 feet) in diameter; and, RT-8, 8 meters (26 feet) in diameter. Nearby, a small village was constructed for approximately 2,000 residents to support work at the site.
Upon the occasion of Latvian Independence in 1991, the site’s stewardship was surreptitiously overtaken to the Russian Federation, the new Latvian government not even being aware of the site until 1993. Before Russian forces surrendered custody of the site in 1994, they conducted an extensive sabotage operation by pouring acid into mechanical parts, cutting electrical cables, rendering control panels inoperative, and destroying technical manuals, among other things. The attached village was completely abandoned at the same time.
The Latvian Academy of Sciences took over control of the site shortly thereafter, and the site became VIRAC in 1996. The 32- and 16-meter telescopes were refurbished and returned to service in 2015, while the 8-meter telescope lies in disrepair (as in the photograph above.)
2. Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre #2
Access to VIRAC is by appointment only, with tours running from May to October.
Upon arriving at the site with about a minute to spare before our scheduled tour time (because that’s how we roll), we were given a brief orientation lecture which outlined the rules of the site. Specifically, as it is now an active radio astronomy observatory, signal-emitting devices (namely, cellular phones) had to be placed in airplane mode.
We first made our way to the remnants of the 8-meter telescope, RT-8, its dish and mount lying besides its former observatory structure (as well as a bust of Yuri Gagarin).
On the ground level of the observatory building, you can see the control panels and mechanical machinery Soviet forces left in tact.
Here you can see one such control panel, with knobs to control the instrument’s azimuth (left) and elevation angle (right).
3. Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre #3
Another control panel reads signal strength.
4. Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre #4
Moving into the building’s dark basement, you can see the electrical controls and motors for the telescope in their long unmaintained state.
5. Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre #5
Soviet-era maps would include known locations of NATO military bases, while Soviet military base locations were conspicuously absent.
Moving up to the second floor of the RT-8, you can see the offices of the telescope, as well as items found at VIRAC from the Soviet era.
6. Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre #6
A long, now disused, hallway contains a collection of radios …
7. Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre #7
… And Communist-era signage.
8. Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre #8
Next, you climb to the top level of RT-8, where the 8-meter radio telescope and its mount once stood. It gives you a view across VIRAC towards the RT-32 telescope.
9. Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre #9
You can also see the demolished remains of a large office building which once stood adjacent to the RT-8 tower.
10. Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre #10
The RT-32 telescope is composed of over 20,000 parts and weighs over 600 tons; it, along with the RT-16 telescope at VIRAC, are two constituent telescopes of the European Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry Network, the world’s most sensitive radio telescope network.
After departing the RT-8 telescope tower, we had a chance to climb atop the disused RT-8 parabolic dish and secondary reflector structure. Then, the tour took an unexpected turn as we traveled underground along a roughly 550-meter (1,800 foot) tunnel to next to the RT-32 telescope.
This was certainly a “pinch-me” moment. I was born at the tail end of the Cold War -I faintly remember seeing the fall of the Berlin Wall on television, for example- and, to me, the Soviet Union is not history but very much a memory. If I could somehow communicate with my kindergarten-age self and say that one day I’d travel through an underground bunker at a top secret Soviet military spy base, I would have though that to be the most amazing and fantastical notion!
11. Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre #11
In addition to its very-long-baseline interferometry mission, RT-32 participates in missions such as microswave sun observations, finding and observing space debris, and the monitoring of space for signs of intelligent life.
We had some time to admire RT-32 up-close; however, given its 24/7 mission, it was not possible to go inside the control room. We then made our way (above ground this time) to the facility entrance.
While, yes, the site is remote and the cost of the tour (€65 per person as of 2024) may seem steep, I assure you I found this one of the most fascinating tours I’ve ever done and you should absolutely consider a stop if you are traveling through the west of Latvia.
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Now back to the travelogue!
12. Irbene Village #1
The ghost town of Irbene once consisted of four large apartment buildings, a school, a shop, a post office, and sports and entertainment halls.
Adjacent to the current VIRAC site is the ghost town of Irbene which is now totally open for urban exploration.
13. Irbene Village #2
The site is completely derelict, so please be mindful of where you step.
14. Irbene Village #3
At the time my visit, the site had only been abandoned for 30 years. It is absolutely amazing what the ravages of time can do so quickly.
15. Irbene Village #4
There are several balconies extending outwards from the apartment buildings - take great care to check the integrity of the structure before stepping out!
16. Irbene Village #5
We certainly would have loved to explore some more, but we had a scheduled appointment to get to. En route, we stopped in Ventspils for a quick lunch before trucking onwards.
17. Karosta Prison #1
Karosta Prison was constructed around 1900 and has served as a military prison for the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and the Latvian government.
Our next stop was Karosta Prison where we had an appointment for a prison-themed escape room called “Pre-Trial Detention Centre.” How cool is that? It was certainly a lot of fun and (thankfully) was in English. I won’t give you any clues, but I will say this: if it looks like actual electrical wiring, it’s actually electrical wiring. Bzzt! Bzzt!
Having a bit of time before our tour of the prison itself, we took a quick opportunity to fill up car and get the lay of the land a bit. Karosta used to be a closed city and Soviet naval base, and the surrounding neighborhood certainly has abandoned military vibes to it.
18. Karosta Prison #2
Karosta Prison is the only military prison in Europe open to visitors.
Returning from our fuel and coffee break, we began our tour. The visit is rather straightforward (it is a prison after all), but it does a good job of recounting the history of Latvia from 1900 onwards. Serving mostly as a military prison for disobedient soldiers and sailors, it also housed political prisoners both during the Soviet and Nazi eras.
19. Karosta Prison #3
In the commandant’s office, you can see a Soviet era radio and record player. As the stations were state run, the frequencies for different types of content were fixed and could be printed straight onto the radio’s face. Naturally, elicit Western radio could sometimes be found in the spaces in between, and the Soviet Union spent tens of millions of dollars on jamming equipment to prevent Western perversion.
20. Karosta Prison #4
The cells still has inmate engravings on the walls. The text in the box at center right reads, “I want to go home.”
I was proud to see Iron Maiden was the music of choice for at least one disobedient communist 🤘
21. Karosta Prison #5
The prison also runs a program where you can stay overnight as several of the cells have been converted into hotel rooms of various luxury ranging from basic (wooden benches) to luxurious (the hotel room of the prison warden.)
22. Liepaja Sunset #1
Liepaja has been a popular beach resort since the 19th century.
Closing out our day, we made our way to Liepaja’s waterfront to have a drink and catch the sunset. What a great way to end teh day!
Another view of the sunset follows.
