LIEPAJA (Libau), a seaport of Latvia in 56° 32' N., 2' E., at the northern extremity of a narrow sandy peninsula which separates Lake Libau (12 m. long and 2 m. wide) from the Baltic sea. Pop. (193o) 57,238. There are four harbours, the Commercial, with stone quays, storehouses for merchandise and three large grain elevators, the Winter, with numerous timber yards round the quays, the Avant pier or New Harbour, north west of the Commercial harbour, where regular passenger steam ers berth, and the War harbour, with two dry docks, each 600 ft. There are three entrances, but the southern one is at present closed for navigation, being blocked with sunken wrecks; the mid dle entrance is now comparatively clear, but some wreckage re mains, marked by a gas buoy ; the northern entrance is now clear. Vessels drawing more than 28 ft. cannot enter. The port is practically open all the year round with the help of its icebreakers.
The port is a coaling and oil station. The chief imports are coal, iron, salt, herrings, grain, cotton, machinery, chemical manure and phosphates. The exports include rye, barley, oats, wool, linseed, sleepers, deals, pit-props, pulp-wood, ply-wood, skins and hides, wheat and eggs. War conditions and the severance from Russia have much reduced its trade which is only :0 to 15% of that in 1913. Its industries before 1913 included iron and steel
works and engineering yards, veneering, flour-milling, bacon-cur ing, tobacco manufacture, the making of vegetable oils, colours and varnishes, brewing, distilling and leather works. Many of the factories were ruined during the war and await capital for repair and development.
The port of Libau, Lyra portus, is mentioned in 1263, when it belonged to the Livonian order or Brothers of the Sword. In 1418 it was burned by the Lithuanians and in 1560 mortgaged by the grandmaster of the Teutonic order, to which it had passed, to the Prussian duke Albert. In 17o it was captured by Charles XII. of Sweden, and in 1795 annexed to Russia. After 1872, when it was brought into railway connection with Moscow, Orel and Kharkov, Liepaja became an important port and developed rapidly. The Russians constructed an extensive naval port, pro tected by moles and breakwaters in 1893-1906. The Latvian gov ernment removed here when Riga was in German occupation in 1917-19, and Liepaja itself was occupied by German troops in 1919. Evidences of war destruction remain still, though many repairs have been carried out.