Latvia sells ghost town

Feb 08, 2010
Oskars Magone

The town of Skrunda-1 was sold for more than 1.5 million lats to a Russian company.

SKRUNDA-1 - A Russian firm has purchased the Latvian town of Skrunda-1 at an auction in Riga.

Skrunda-1 is a secret radio facility built by the Soviet Union. It was abandon in 1998, when all the residents moved out following the destruction of the Hen House Radar installation by US demolitions experts.

The town contains a number of run-down facilities, including a school, numerous apartment blocks, a supermarket and multiple nightclubs -- all in very poor condition following more than 10 years of disrepair.

Approximately 60 buildings at the site once housed as many as 5,000 service personnel and their families.

The town, which was left off the maps and referred to - as many secret Soviet establishments were - only by the name of the closest town followed by a "1", was sold for a total sum of more than 1.5 million lats (2.2 million euros).

The winning bidder was Russian company Aleksejevskoje-Serviss on Friday.

The starting price for the property was set at 153,966 Lats.

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