Skrunda

Town

Flag

Coat of arms

Skrunda

Location in Latvia

Coordinates: 56°40′N 22°0′E / 56.667°N 22.000°ECoordinates: 56°40′N 22°0′E / 56.667°N 22.000°E

Country

Latvia

Municipality

Skrunda Municipality

Town rights

1996

Government

• Mayor

Loreta Robežniece

Area

• Total

7.912 km² (3.055 sq mi)

• Rural territory

257.908 km² (99.579 sq mi)

Elevation

50 m (160 ft)

Population

• Total

2,637

• Density

333/km² (860/sq mi)

Time zone

EET (UTC+2)

• Summer (DST)

EEST (UTC+3)

Postal code

LV-3326

Calling code

+371 633

Number of city council members

Skrunda ( pronunciation ; German: Schrunden) is a town in Latvia. It lies 150 km (95 mi) west of the capital city Riga in Skrunda Municipality.

There is a former Soviet secret city near the town - Skrunda-1, which housed two major radar installations during the Cold War period. One radar was demolished in 1995. Pursuant to an agreement between the Republic of Latvia and the Russian Federation, the other radar 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, 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 trading 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 will use it for military exercises.

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Wikipedia