Liepāja lighthouse to host a multimedia exhibition on port history

A multimedia exhibition about the history of the port is being created inside a nearly 160-year-old lighthouse in Liepāja, which had been inaccessible to visitors, LSM reported. The exhibition’s creators say they know of no other lighthouse with a digital display using modern technology.

The lighthouse stands on the grounds of a former fish cannery. Access had been restricted for years for safety and sanitary reasons. After the company that owned the buildings went bankrupt, a new owner acquired them, allowing discussions about opening access to the lighthouse.

Uldis Hmieļevskis, head of the Liepāja Special Economic Zone Authority, said months of talks with the new building owners led to an agreement on an access road. The road was built to a port quay that is planned for reconstruction to serve coastal fishers, and also provides access to the lighthouse.

The original plan was to let visitors view the port from the top of the lighthouse. The project has since developed into an exhibition using projections, visualisations and sound effects. It will occupy five of the lighthouse’s seven floors.

The first floor will cover the lighthouse’s origins, wartime trials and importance to sailors. The second will focus on the port’s development and its effect on the city’s growth, while the third will explore Liepāja’s links with the world, emigration and cultural exchange.

The fourth floor will present the daily lives of fishers, the harshness of the sea and the tragic consequences of the great storm of 1925. The fifth will trace turning points in Liepāja’s history, from the port’s boom to the present and future.