2017

Ložmetējkalns Hill Observation Tower will be Temporarily Closed

Joint Stock Company "Latvia's State Forests" (LVM) hereby informs that in a regular technical inspection damage has been detected in the construction of the Ložmetējkalns Hill Observation Tower, and therefore due to safety reasons it is temporarily closed.

"When planning visiting the Christmas Battlegrounds in November, it is important to keep in mind that it will not be possible to climb up the tower. You are kindly invited to use the recreational facilities with tables, benches and campfires set up for visitors' convenience.  We plan to restore the watch tower in the near future; however, considering the timelines necessary for its preparation and reconstruction itself, I believe that it will be open to visitors next spring. We will provide more information later on," said Jānis Zitāns, Zemgale Region Planning Manager.

Tīreļpurvs Bog and Hill Ložmetējkalns (Machine-gun Hill) are among the best preserved battlefields of the First World War in Europe. Here you can see the memorial sites of the legendary Christmas Battle of 1916: Russian and German trenches, memorial stones in the positions of the Latvian riflemen's regiments, memorial signs at the front-break points, Brothers' Cemetery, a monument to the Latvian riflemen at Hill Ložmetējkalns. Testimonies about these events can be explored at the branch of the the Latvian War Museum - house named "Mangaļi".