Vaiņode Railway Station and the Hymn Stone

The railway station building was opened in 1872, following the construction of the Liepāja-Vaiņode railway line in 1871. This marked the beginning of significant development along Vaiņode’s central streets. Notably, guidebooks from that time recorded the distance of every building or landmark in versts from the railway station. The station once served as an essential hub for military transport.

During World War I, a branch line was constructed from the station to the airfield to transport materials (metal structures for hangars), cranes, winches, and munitions for military warehouses. These materials were later used by zeppelins to transport goods to Riga and bomb Russian fortifications.

Remarkably, the railway station building sustained no damage during the war and has retained its original appearance over the years.

Passenger train services ceased in 1998. In 2012, the Liepāja–Priekule section of the railway was dismantled, and the Priekule–Vaiņode section remains closed and unused. Today, the Vaiņode station building houses facilities for local businesses, with a café operating on the ground floor.

Hymn Stone

GPS: 56.416785, 21.855742

A unique stone with an engraving of the Latvian national anthem was discovered in the summer of 2008. The stone had been embedded in the wall of a farm building but fell out as the structure crumbled. Near the Vaiņode airfield, in an area locals call the "ninth kilometer," an observant resident noticed the stone engraved with the words of Latvia’s anthem. Since the stone was found in ruins, its origin and the person who engraved it remain unknown.

The Latvian Petroglyph Center examined the stone and found three unrelated additional engravings: an inscription about the construction of a building, the motto "A firm will overcomes all," and the mention of an individual.

Local residents speculate that this stone may be the one originally installed in Vaiņode’s center to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Latvia's independence but later disappeared during the Soviet era. However, A. Grīnbergs, head of the Latvian Petroglyph Center, suggests that the stone was likely a practice piece used by the engraver, as the anthem is inscribed with errors, and other unrelated engravings are present.

The Hymn Stone is now installed in the square near Vaiņode Railway Station and is the only known object of its kind in Latvia.