Irbene is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

in Ance parish, northwestern

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. In 1971, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

established a secret radar center "Звезда" ("Star" in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

; later acquired by

Ventspils Starptautiskais Radioastronomijas Centrs Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre ( lv, Ventspils Starptautiskais radioastronomijas centrs – ''VIRAC'') is an ex-Soviet radio astronomy installation 30 km north of Ventspils, Latvia, on the coast of the Baltic Sea in Ance pa ...

in 1990s) and built a settlement for military officers and their families, naming it Irbene because of nearby river

Irbe Irbe is a Latvian feminine given name and a Latvian surname. The associated name day is March 20. Notable people with the surname Irbe include: * Artūrs Irbe Artūrs Irbe (born 2 February 1967) is a Latvian professional ice hockey coach and ...

. The town had a school, shop, sport and concert halls. However, the town was not marked on maps. Only the holders of a special permit were able to access Irbene. After the withdrawal of the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

in 1993 the town became abandoned.

References

Ghost towns in Latvia Ventspils Municipality {{Latvia-stub