Editing Liepāja (section)

==History==

===Early history===
It is said that the original settlement at the location of modern Liepāja was founded by [[Curonians|Curonian]] fishermen from [[Piemare]] as ''Līva'', but [[Henry of Livonia]] (Henricus de Lettis), in his famous ''Chronicle'', makes no mention of the settlement. The [[Teutonic Order]] established a village which they called ''Libau'' here in 1263, followed by [[Jelgava|Mitau]] two years later. In 1418 the village was sacked and burned by the [[Lithuanians]].<ref>Turnbull, Stephen, ''Tannenberg 1410'', Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2003, p.82: Certainly Poland & Lithuania invaded Prussia again in 1422, but no mentions of Libau.</ref>

===Livonian confederation===
During the 15th century, a part of the trade route from [[Amsterdam]] to [[Moscow]] passed through Līva, where it was known as the "white road to ''Lyva portus''". By 1520 the river Līva had become too shallow for easy navigation, and development of the city declined.

=== Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ===
[[File:Liepāja in 1701, looking from the Baltic Sea.jpg|thumb|left|Panorama of Liepāja in 1701, looking from the [[Baltic Sea]]]]
In 1560, [[Gotthard Kettler]], first Duke of [[Courland and Semigallia]], loaned all the Grobiņa district, including Libau, to [[Albert, Duke of Prussia]] for 50,000 [[Rhenish guilder|gulden]]s. Only in 1609 after the marriage of [[Sofie Hohenzollern]], Princess of Prussia, to [[Wilhelm Kettler]] did the territory return to the Duchy. During the [[Livonian War]], Libau was attacked and burnt by the Swedes. Along with Courland it was under [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Polish–Lithuanian]] suzerainty.

In 1625, Duke [[Friedrich Kettler]] of Courland granted the town city rights,<ref name=sgk/> which were affirmed by King [[Sigismund III Vasa|Sigismund III]] of [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland]] in 1626. Under Duke [[Jacob Kettler]] (1642–1681), Libau became one of the main ports of Courland as it reached the height of its prosperity. In 1637 [[Couronian colonization]] was started from the ports of Libau and [[Ventspils]] (Windau). Kettler was an eager proponent of mercantilist ideas. Metalworking and ship building became much more developed, and trading relations developed not only with nearby countries but also with [[Kingdom of England|Britain]], [[Kingdom of France|France]], the [[Dutch Republic|Netherlands]] and [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portugal]]. For the town's faithful stance in the [[Polish-Swedish War (1655-1660)|Polish-Swedish war]], the Polish King [[John II Casimir Vasa|John Casimir]] granted Lipava the right to collect customs duties on goods in the port in 1659, while King [[Augustus II the Strong|Augustus II]] approved the magistrate's decision to expand the port in 1698.

In 1697–1703, a canal was cut to the sea and a more modern port was built.<ref name="BSE"/> In 1701, during the [[Great Northern War]], Libau was captured by [[Charles XII of Sweden]], but by the end of the war, the city had returned to titular Polish possession.<ref name="britannica"/> In 1710 an epidemic of [[Plague (disease)|plague]] killed about a third of the population. In 1780 the first [[Freemasonry]] lodge, "Libanons", was established by Provincial Grand Master [[Ivan Yelagin]] on behalf of the Provincial Lodge of Russia; it was registered as number 524 in the [[Grand Lodge of England]].<ref name="masonicum"/> In 1794, the city was captured by the Polish insurgents during the [[Kościuszko Uprising]].<ref name=sgk>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom V|year=1884|language=pl|location=Warszawa|page=202}}</ref>

=== Russian Empire ===
[[File:The Emigrants’ House of the Russian-American Line of the Russian East-Asian Steamship Company in Liepāja.jpg|thumb|left|The Emigrants' House of the Russian East-Asian Steamship Company. About 500,000 people from the Russian Empire emigrated to the United States through Liepāja.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Žemaitis |first1=Augustinas |title=History of Liepāja |url=https://www.onlatvia.com/history-of-liepaja-593 |website=OnLatvia.com |access-date=18 April 2022}}</ref>]]
Courland passed to the control of the [[Russian Empire]] in 1795 during the [[Third Partition of Poland]] and was organized as the [[Courland Governorate]] of Russia. Growth during the nineteenth century was rapid. During the [[Crimean War]], when the British [[Royal Navy]] was blockading Russian Baltic ports, the busy yet still unfortified port of Libau was [[Arthur Cumming (Royal Navy officer)#Crimean War|briefly captured]] on 17 May 1854 without a shot being fired, by a landing party of 110 men from HMS ''Conflict'' and HMS ''Amphion''.<ref name="amphion"/>

In 1857, an Imperial Decree provided for a new railway to Libau.<ref>Palmer, Alan, ''Northern Shores'', London, 2005, p.215.</ref> That year the engineer [[Jan Heidatel]] developed a project to reconstruct the port. In 1861–1868 the project was realized – including the building of a [[Liepāja Lighthouse|lighthouse]] and breakwaters. Between 1877 and 1882 the political and literary weekly newspaper ''Liepājas Pastnieks'' was published – the first [[Latvian language]] newspaper in Libau.<ref name="liepajasp"/> In the 1870s the further rapid development of Russian [[railways]], especially the 1871 opening of the Libava-[[Kaunas]] and the 1876 [[Liepāja–Romny Railway]]s, ensured that a large proportion of central Russian trade passed through Libau.<ref name="BE1"/> By 1900, 7% of Russian exports were passing through Libau. The city became a major port of the Russian Empire on the Baltic Sea, as well as a popular resort. During this time of economic expansion, the city architect [[Paul Max Bertschy]] provided the design for many of the city's both public and private buildings, making an imprint on the architecture which can still be seen today.<ref name=daugavpils>{{cite web |url= https://www.visitdaugavpils.lv/en/personibas/pauls-makss-berci/|title= Paul Max Bertschy|author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher= Visit Daugavpils|access-date= 19 July 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Liepajastramvajs 1.jpg|thumb|Electric [[tram]] in Liepāja, circa 1900]]
On the orders of [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]], Libau was fortified against possible German attacks. [[Libava fortress|Fortifications]] were subsequently built around the city, and in the early 20th century, a major military base was established on the northern edge. It included formidable coastal fortifications and extensive quarters for military personnel. As part of the military development, a separate port was excavated exclusively for military use. This area became known as [[Karosta|Kara Osta]] (War Port) and served military needs throughout the twentieth century.

Early in the twentieth century, the port of Libau became a central point of embarkation for immigrants travelling to the United States and Canada. By 1906 the direct ship service to the United States was used by 40,000 migrants per year. Simultaneously, the first Russian training school of submarine navigation was founded. In 1912 one of the first water aerodromes in Russia was opened in Libau.<ref name="Gse1"/> In 1913, 1,738 ships entered Libau, with 1,548,119 tonnes of cargo passing through the port. The population had increased from 10,000 to over 100,000 within about 60 years.

=== World War I and War of Independence ===
[[File:Beschießung der russischen Hafenstadt Libau am 2. August 1914 durch den Kleinen Kreuzer SMS AUGSBURG. Illustrierte Geschichte des Weltkrieges 1914-15. 1914 1915.jpg|thumb|Bombardment of port Liepāja by German cruiser {{ship|SMS|Augsburg}}, 2 August 1914]]
[[File:Либава 5 руб 1915 а.jpg|thumb|left|Libau's 5 rubles (1915)]]
Following the outbreak of World War I, the German cruiser SMS ''Magdeburg'' shelled Liepāja (then part of Russia), and other vessels laid mines off the approaches to the port.<ref>Palmer, 2005, p.255</ref> Liepāja was occupied by the [[German Army (German Empire)|German Army]], on 7 May 1915, and in memory of this event, a monument was constructed on Kūrmājas Prospect in 1916 and removed in 1919 by the new Latvian State. Liepāja's local government issued its own money for a while in this period – ''Libaua rubles''. An advanced German [[Zeppelin]] base was constructed at Vaiņode, near Liepāja, with five hangars, in August 1915.<ref>Palmer, 2005, p.258.</ref> On 23 October 1915, the German cruiser {{ship|SMS|Prinz Adalbert|1901|6}} was sunk by the British submarine {{HMS|E8}}, {{convert|37|km|nmi mi|0|abbr=on}} west of Liepāja.

[[File:Libau hafen.jpg|thumb|[[Imperial German Army|German Army]] in Liepāja, 1915]]
With the collapse of Russia and the signing of the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]], the occupying German forces had a quiet time, but the subsequent defeat in the West of the German Empire and the Allied denunciation of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty changed everything. Independence of the Republic of Latvia was proclaimed on 18 November 1918, and the [[Latvian Provisional Government]] under [[Kārlis Ulmanis]] was created. Bolshevik Russia now advanced into Latvian territory and met little resistance here. Soon the Provisional Government and remaining German units were forced to leave [[Riga]] and retreated all the way to Liepāja, but then the Red offensive stalled along the [[Venta (river)|Venta]] river. The Bolsheviks announced a Latvian Soviet Republic. Latvia now became the main theatre of Baltic operations for the remaining German forces in 1919. In addition, a ''Landeswehr'' was formed to work in conjunction with the German forces.

In Liepāja, a coup organized by Germans took place on 16 April 1919 and Ulmanis government was forced to flee and was replaced by [[Andrievs Niedra]].<ref name="Šiliņš">{{cite news |last1=Šiliņš |first1=Jānis |title=The republic on the sea: The 1919 coup that exiled the Latvian government to a steamboat |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/culture/history/the-republic-on-the-sea-the-1919-coup-that-exiled-the-latvian-government-to-a-steamboat.a316422/ |access-date=21 April 2019 |publisher=[[Public Broadcasting of Latvia]] |date=18 April 2019}}</ref> The Ulmanis government found shelter on the steamship ''Saratov'' in Liepāja port. In May a British cruiser squadron arrived at Liepāja to support Latvian independence and requested the Germans to leave.<ref>Hiden, John, and Salmon, Patrick, ''The Baltic Nations and Europe'', Longman Group UK Ltd., 1991, p.32-6.</ref>

During the war, the words of "[[The Jäger March]]" were written in Liepāja by [[Heikki Nurmio]].

The German ''Freikorps'', having recaptured [[Riga]] from the Bolsheviks, departed in late 1919 and the Bolsheviks were driven out of the Latvian hinterlands in early 1920. In 1920, over 2,500 Polish soldiers of the former [[Polish Legion in Finland]], who fought for Finnish independence from Russia, were evacuated from [[Finland]] to Liepāja and then further to Poland (see also ''[[Latvia–Poland relations]]'').<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Jaworski|first=Jacek|year=2015|title=Polacy w Finlandii: pierwsi przeciw bolszewikom|magazine=Pamięć.pl|language=pl|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|issue=39|page=24|issn=2084-7319}}</ref>

=== 1920–1940 ===
[[File:Soldiers of the Latvian National Armed Forces in Liepāja in November 1920.jpg|thumb|Soldiers of the [[Latvian National Armed Forces]] in Liepāja in 1920]]
During the interwar period, Liepāja was the second major city in Latvia.
In an attempt to put Libau 'on the map', on 31 January 1922, the Libau Bank was founded with significant new capital, transforming the old Libau Exchange Bank which had belonged to the Libau Exchange Association, and it eventually became the fourth-largest of Latvia's joint stock banks. However, when a Riga branch of the bank was opened, the business centre of gravity shifted from Liepāja so that by 1923 its Riga 'branch' was responsible for 90% of the turnover. The German consul in Liepāja reported at the time that "Riga, the economic heart of the country, draws all business to itself." The Latvian government ignored the pleas of the Libau Exchange Association to frustrate this.<ref>Hiden, John, ''The Baltic States and Weimar Ostpolitik'', Cambridge University Press, UK, 1987, p.101-3.</ref> In 1935 KOD ({{langx|lv|Kara ostas darbnīcas}}) started to manufacture the light aircraft [[LKOD KOD-1]] and [[LKOD KOD-2]] at Liepāja. However it became evident in this year that trade with the new Soviet Union had virtually collapsed.<ref>Hiden & Salmon, 1991, p.78.</ref>

=== World War II ===
[[File:Karaflotes bazes izv liepaja.jpg|thumb|upright|Top secret USSR document about creating a closed military port in Liepāja. Signed by Stalin (note: there is a spelling mistake in the word "Liepāja" – ''{{lang|ru|Лепая}}'') (1951)]]
{{See also|Liepāja massacres}}

The ports and human capital of Liepāja and Ventspils were targets of [[Joseph Stalin]]. He signed the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop pact]] in part to gain control of this territory. When the Soviet Union [[Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940|occupied and annexed Latvia in 1940]], it nationalized private property. Many thousands of former owners were arrested and [[June deportation|deported]] to the gulag camps in [[Siberia]].

In 1941, Liepāja was among the first cities captured by the [[291st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|291st Infantry Division]] of [[Army Group North]] after Nazi Germany began [[Operation Barbarossa]], its war against the Soviet Union. German Nazis and Latvian collaborators virtually [[Liepāja massacres|exterminated]] the local Jewish population, which had numbered about 7,000 before the war. Film footage of an [[Einsatzgruppen]] execution of local Jews was taken in Liepāja.<ref name="filmabouthol"/><ref name="dochol"/> Most of these mass murders took place in the dunes of [[Šķēde]] north of the city. Fewer than thirty Jews survived in Liepāja by the end of the war.

One of the very few surviving films documenting the mass murder of Jews during the first stages of the Holocaust is a short film by a German soldier who witnessed the [[Liepāja massacres|massacres]] of Liepāja Jews in July 1941 near the city's lighthouse.<ref name="dochol" />

During the war, the German navy's U-boat crews received their torpedo training at Liepāja.

During the period of 1944–1945, as the Soviet Union began its offensive to the Baltic Sea, Liepāja was within the "[[Courland Pocket]]". It was occupied by the [[Red Army]] on 9 May 1945. Thousands of Latvians fled as refugees to Germany. The city had been devastated during the war, and most of the buildings and industrial [[Physical plant|plant]] were destroyed.

=== Latvian SSR ===
On 25–29 March 1949, the Soviet Union organized a second [[Operation Priboi|mass deportation]] to [[Siberia]] from Liepāja. In 1950 a monument to Stalin was erected on Station square ({{langx|lv|Stacijas laukums}}). It was dismantled in 1958 after the Party Congress that discussed his abuses.

On 8 April 1950, an international incident occurred when the Soviets shot down a U.S. Navy [[Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer|PB4Y-2 Privateer]] (BuNo 59645) over the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Liepāja, piloted by Lt. John Henry Fette. Four American officers and six enlisted men died in the incident.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ship Finds Raft in Baltic; Clue to Missing Plane |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call-us-navy-pb4y-2-privat/168477325/ |work=The Morning Call |date=April 17, 1950 |location=Allentown, PA |page=1 |access-date=March 21, 2025 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Fliers Lost in Plane Incident Given Posthumous Decoration |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/danville-register-and-bee-us-navy-pb4y/168477294/ |work=Danville Register and Bee |date=April 26, 1950 |location=Danville, VA |page=27 |access-date=March 21, 2025 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>

[[File:1963 In City Park Of Liepaja - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Soviet rally in the city park, 1963]]
During 1953–1957, the city center was reconstructed under the direction of architects A. Kruglov and M. Žagare.<ref name="BSE"/> In 1952–1955 the [[University of Liepāja|Liepāja Academy of Pedagogy]] building was constructed under the direction of A. Aivars. In 1960 the ''Kurzeme'' shopping centre was opened. During the Soviet administration, Liepāja was a [[closed city]]; even local farmers and villagers needed a special permit to enter it.

The Soviet military set up its Baltic naval base and [[nuclear weapon]] warehouses there; The Beberliņš [[sandpit]] was dug out to extract sand used for constructing underground warehouses. In 1967 the Soviets completely closed the port to commercial traffic. One-third of the city was taken up with a Soviet naval base; its military staff numbered 26,000. The 14th Submarine Squadron of the USSR's [[Baltic Fleet]] ({{lang|ru|14 эскадрилья ЛиВМБ ДКБФ}}, call sign "Комплекс") was stationed there with 16 submarines (Types: [[Whiskey class submarine|613]], [[Golf class submarine|629a]], [[Juliett class submarine|651]]); as was the 6th group of Rear Supply of the Baltic Fleet, and the 81st Design Bureau and Reserve Command Center of the same force.

In 1977, Liepāja was awarded the [[Order of the October Revolution]] for heroic defense against Nazi Germany in 1941. Five residents were awarded the honorary title [[Hero of Socialist Labor]]: Anatolijs Filatkins, Artūrs Fridrihsons, Voldemārs Lazdups, Valentins Šuvajevs and Otīlija Žagata. Because of the rapid growth of the city's population, a shortage of apartment houses resulted. To resolve this, the Soviet government organized development of most of the modern Liepāja districts: [[Dienvidrietumi (Liepāja)|Dienvidrietumi]], [[Ezerkrasts]], [[Ziemeļu priekšpilsēta (Liepāja)|Ziemeļu priekšpilsēta]], [[Zaļā birze]] and [[Tosmare]]. The majority of these blocks were constructed of ferro-concrete panels in standard projects designed by the state [[Latgyprogorstroy]] Institute ({{lang|ru|Латгипрогорстрой}}). In 1986 the new central city hospital in [[Zaļa birze]] was opened.<ref name="slimnica"/>
[[File:Soviet blocks, Liepaja.jpg|thumbnail|right|Soviet-era apartment blocks in Liepāja]]

=== 1990–present ===
After Latvia regained independence after the fall of the Soviet Union, Liepāja has worked hard to change from a military city into a modern port city (again appearing on European maps after the secrecy of the Soviet period). The commercial port was re-opened in 1991, and in 1994 the last [[Russian Federation|Russian]] troops left Liepāja. Since then, Liepāja has engaged in international co-operation, has been associated with 10 twin and partner cities, and is an active partner in several co-operation networks. Facilities are being improved. The city is the location of Latvia's largest [[Military of Latvia|naval flotilla]], the largest warehouses of [[ammunition]] and weapons in the Baltic states, and the main supply centre of the Latvian army.

The former Soviet [[closed military townlet]] has been transformed into the northern neighbourhood of [[Karosta]], occupying a third of the area of the city of Liepāja and attracting tourists to the remains of the military era.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.latvia.travel/en/sight/liepaja-naval-port|title= Liepāja Naval Port}}</ref>

At the beginning of the 21st century, many ambitious construction projects were planned for the city, including a [[NATO]] military base,<ref>{{cite web |title=Liepāja to host military base with NATO-standard docks |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/liepaja-to-host-military-base-with-nato-standard-docks.a210448/ |website=Lsm.lv |access-date=28 April 2022 }}</ref> and Baltic Sea Park, planned as the biggest amusement park in the [[Baltic states]]. Most of the projects have not yet been realised due to economic and political factors. Liepāja's heating network was renovated with the cooperation of French and Russian companies: [[Veolia Energy-Dalkia|Dalkia]] and [[Gazprom]], respectively. In 2006, Queen [[Beatrix of the Netherlands]], a direct descendant of [[Jacob Kettler]] visited Liepāja. In 2010 the coal [[cogeneration]] 400 MW power plant was built in Liepāja with the support of the government.