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Latvia faces west on the Baltic Sea and north on the Gulf of Riga, an elliptical basin connected to the Baltic by the Irbensky Strait. The country was part of the Russian Empire until the end of World War I in 1918, and then it was incorporated into the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1990. Thus the older lighthouses are from the Russian Imperial period, and some of the newer ones are of Soviet construction. Internationally, most locations on the coast of Latvia were known by their German names prior to World War I; these German names for the older lighthouses are shown in curly brackets {}. Lighthouses in Latvia are monitored and regulated by the Latvian Hydrographic Service (LHS) but are actually operated by the local port authorities in Liepaja, Ventspils and Riga. In Latvian, a lighthouse is a "beacon," baka. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Light List numbers are from volume C of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 116. What's Hot:
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![]() Pape Light, summer 2007 photo copyright Bronius Sriubas used by permission |
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![]() Irbe Light Latvian Hydrographic Service photo |
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Mersrags Light Municipality of Mersrags photo |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
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Posted April 25, 2005. Check and revised April 19, 2007. Lighthouses: 24. Site copyright 2007 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.