Military heritage

The Baltic States' military heritage tourism product tells the shared story of our independence. Currently, the website https://militaryheritagetourism.info/lt features over 600 sites in Estonia and Latvia, where visitors can learn about these countries' freedom history over the past hundred years from the loss of independence to the present day. With the launch of a new project, information about Lithuania's military heritage has also been added to this platform.

The shared history of Baltic independence

Numerous testimonies and historical sites remain from the struggles for independence in all three Baltic States—battlefields, military structures, historical photographs, and personal memoirs. These elements together form a common military heritage, reflecting how our countries defended their existence during the Wars of Independence, how all three were crushed by World War II, why national partisans resisted the Soviet occupation, and how independence was eventually restored after decades of occupation.

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a new chapter has begun in our history of independence, and this will also be included in the Military Heritage Tourism project. It is now crucial to document events in the Baltic States since the war began, such as the removal of Soviet-era monuments that glorified the USSR. War crimes committed by Russia have led Baltic nations (and other parts of Europe) to re-evaluate sites, memorials, and statues honoring the Soviet regime as a totalitarian and criminal state. Some of these structures have been demolished, while others have been relocated to museums. The Military Heritage Tourism website provides extensive information on these demolitions.

Military heritage tourism across the Baltic region

The idea of promoting military heritage in tourism—with the long-term goal of creating a joint Baltic offer—was initiated five years ago by the Latvian Rural Tourism Association "Lauku ceļotājs". With support from the EU Interreg Estonia-Latvia program, military heritage sites were selected, an online platform was created, and collaborations were established with historians. Project partners from Latvia and Estonia have invested in 36 military heritage sites, improving them and integrating them into tourism offerings.

Currently, the Military Heritage Tourism website www.militaryheritagetourism.info features 668 military heritage sites in Latvia and Estonia, 60 tour programs, 15 routes. It also includes historical descriptions of events and personalities, all marked on a timeline for better historical context.

This year, we launched a new project under the Interreg VI-A Latvia-Lithuania program, incorporating Lithuania into the Baltic military heritage tourism platform. About 300 new military heritage sites in southern Latvia and Lithuania have been added, along with 10 new tourism routes. Audio guides have been created for specific sites, and investments have been made to enhance exhibitions in Latvia and the Cold War exhibit in Plokštinė, Lithuania.

Now, we can fully present the shared independence history of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia on a Baltic-wide scale.

Discover history through tourism experiences

If history was not your favorite subject in school, military heritage tourism can help you experience it in a captivating way: walking through fortifications and trenches at former battle sites, spending time in partisan bunkers or prison cells, listening to stories about historical events at the locations where they happened. Through tourism experiences, you can learn historical facts in an engaging manner.

Join us in preserving military heritage

• One of the goals of the Military Heritage Tourism project is to preserve disappearing historical evidence. One example is a bridge built over the Daugava River during World War II to aid the German army’s retreat, now only its pillars remain, but it stands as an important historical testimony of wartime events. Preserved photographs and accounts of its construction allow it to become a military heritage tourism attraction. There may be many unknown or unexplored locations that could be added to the tourism offering with the help of local history enthusiasts, tourism experts, and historians. We invite you to watch an inspiring video from our Latvian colleagues: https://youtu.be/y6dmt2tJU_w
• The Military Heritage Tourism website also features personal memoirs, contributed by individuals responding to the project team's call. These personal experiences are an essential part of our shared history and national identity. Over time, fewer people remain who can recall and share details of past events. If you have historical stories to share, please write to info@atostogoskaime.lt. We will publish selected memories on the Military Heritage Tourism website and social media.

Stay tuned:

• www.militaryheritagetourism.info

• Social media (Facebook & Instagram): @militaryheritagetourism

• Military heritage tourism publications and maps: https://militaryheritagetourism.info/lv/info/publications

This information has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this information are the sole responsibility of Lithuanian Countryside Tourism Association and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

Strong yesterday – free today! This is our slogan, representing the shared military heritage and independence history of the Baltic States.