Remnants of a Secret City: Skrunda-1

Ilmars Znotins/AFP/Getty Images

The Latvian ghost town formerly known as Skrunda-1, a remnant of the Soviet’s secret cities was reported by AP  to have been sold at an unusual auction to a Russian investor who bid $3.1 million. The town, built in the 1980s around a Soviet-era radar station, housed about 5,000 people during the Cold War. It was abandoned over a decade ago after the Russian military withdrew from Latvia following the Soviet collapse. Take a look at some of the buildings left behind and a demolition vid after the jump.

AP Photo/Roman Koksarov

AP Photo/Roman Koksarov

One of the radar buildings — dubbed Pechora (pictured above)— was enormous, soaring 60 meters (180 feet). In May 1995, it was ceremoniously blown up by a U.S. demolition firm using over a ton of dynamite. Watch the video below.

In 1998 the last residents of Skrunda-1 left town, leaving behind hundreds of vacant apartments and dozens of buildings. Talk about transforming the town into a recreational area went nowhere, and two years ago Latvia’s government decided to put the settlement on the auction block.

via Boston.com and ajc