{{Short description|Town in Latvia}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Irbene | native_name = | settlement_type = Ghost town | other_name = | nickname = | motto = | image_skyline = Irbene.jpeg | imagesize = | image_caption = Abandoned houses in Irbene in 2014 | image_flag = | flag_link = | image_shield = | shield_link = | pushpin_map = Latvia | pushpin_label_position = <!-- left/right --> | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|57|33|53|N|21|51|46|E|display=inline}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = '''{{flag|Latvia}}''' | subdivision_type1 = Municipality | subdivision_name1 = Ventspils Municipality | subdivision_type2 = Parish | subdivision_name2 = Ance parish | established_title = Established | established_date = 1971 | government_type = | leader_title = | leader_name = | blank_name_sec1 = | blank_info_sec1 = | area_total_km2 = | population_footnotes = | population_total = | population_as_of = | population_rank = | population_density_km2 = | population_density_sq_mi = | population_urban = | population_metro = | population_density = | population_density_rank = | timezone = EET | utc_offset = +2 | timezone_DST = EEST | utc_offset_DST = +3 | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code_type = | area_code = | website = | footnotes = }}
'''Irbene''' is a ghost town in Ance parish, northwestern Latvia. In 1971, the Soviet Union established a secret radar center "Звезда" ("Star" in Russian; later acquired by Ventspils Starptautiskais Radioastronomijas Centrs in 1990s) and built a settlement for military officers and their families, naming it Irbene because of nearby river Irbe. The town had a school, shop, sport and concert halls. However, the town was not marked on maps.<ref name="Rasmussen">{{cite book|last1=Rasmussen|first1=Johannes|title=Travel guide : traces of the Cold War period : the countries around the Baltic Sea|date=2010|publisher=Nordic Council of Ministers|location=Copenhagen|isbn=9789289321211}}</ref> Only the holders of a special permit were able to access Irbene. After the withdrawal of the Soviet Army in 1993 the town became abandoned.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.niekonaujo.lt/20101022/vaiduokliu-miestas-irbene |title=Vaiduoklių miestas Irbene |date=2010-10-22 |publisher=niekonaujo.lt |access-date=2015-07-21 |language=Lithuanian}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
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Category:Ghost towns in Latvia Category:Ventspils Municipality
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